Diverging Timelines Book 2: A Tale of Two Doctors
by Space-Time-Leapers
Summary: Sam Beckett leaps into the life of a teenage girl named Rose Tyler. But who is the strange man in the pin-striped suit? Why does he have a phone box that's bigger on the inside? What exactly does he need to do to leap? The Doctor also has his own questions concerning Sam leaping through time and changing the past, seemingly willy-nilly. And why is Jack Harkness in charge of PQL?
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1**

_Canary Wharf_

_London, England_

_April 2007_

As Sam entered consciousness in a new life, he didn't know what to make of his situation. He was holding onto a lever and what seemed like millions of robots and other things were flying by him. Towards what, he didn't know. His feet dropped immediately to the ground and he almost lost hold of the lever. Across from the stream of flying objects was a man, his arm wrapped around a black bar, holding on to keep from joining the torrent which appeared to be leading into a bright light. To Sam's mind, this situation was what he'd imagined falling into a black hole would be like. The fact that he was obviously not anywhere near one was comforting. However, he wanted to help the man who was showing distress. After all, helping others had become his sole mission in life.

"Rose! Hold on!" the man cried out to him, his face clearly filled with panic. For a moment, the panic faded into utter confusion as the objects zoomed past, the sounds coming from them sounding more like the screams of the damned. Soon, however, the maelstrom faded along the brilliant white light which Sam realized had been covering one of the walls on the far side of the white room he was in. The man released the black bar and immediately hurried over to Sam and wrapped his arms around him. "Rose! Are you all right?" His distinct British accent filled Sam's ears.

_Rose_. At least he knew he was a woman on this leap. Feeling the relief that the man exuded while hugging him, he answered, "Yes, I think so. What was all that?"

The man stared at him for a long moment, clearly concerned about his friend's mental state. "Cybermen... Daleks... Void?" Seeing only confusion on her face, he frowned, pulling out a pair of 3D glasses and putting them on. A moment later, the glasses came off as he gazed upon Sam, clearly stunned. "They're gone. The void stuff's gone. That's impossible!"

"Why?" Sam asked, not exactly sure what the man was saying much less why he was looking at him through cheesy 3D glasses. _Cybermen, Daleks, Void... what the hell is he talking about? _Given the circumstances, he was beginning to wonder if insanity was at play. The question was, who was insane - the man or him.

The man just gazed at him, looking more concerned than he had before. "Rose, it is impossible for void stuff to just vanish. It violates every law of temporal physics!"

"What the hell does void stuff, whatever that is, have to do with temporal physics?" Sam started to question before being cut off.

When his friend started questioning him again, the man shook his head, not interested in answering that particular query. "Never mind that now. There's still Cybermen on this world... the Cybermen that the Cybermen from Pete's World created. We have to take care of them before they decide to upgrade the Earth."

"Cybermen? Upgrading the Earth? Pete's world?" Sam continued to try to get his bearings in what seemed to be the weirdest leap ever... or at least the weirdest he could remember.

The man paused with a glower. "Now I know there's something wrong with you. Go back to the TARDIS. I'll check you over after I take care of this."

"What's a tardis?" Nothing made any sense to him and he wished that Al would make his appearance sooner than later. He was sure that his friend of many years would be able to figure out what was wrong.

The man rubbed his expressive face. "Just... come on," he ordered, grabbing Sam's hand and pulling him along.

They'd gone down several flights of stairs before the man stopped abruptly in front of one of the robots Sam had recently witnessed falling into the light. "What's that?" he asked, a chill running down his spine. He wasn't sure what it was but he figured, in this nightmare he was currently involved in, it couldn't be good.

"Doctor," the metal creature called to him before they were able to go back up the stairs.

The Doctor stopped, seeming to recognize the voice. "Yvonne..." he murmured with sadness.

The stamp of metallic feet hitting the stairs from far below wafted up through the stairwell, indicating that more creatures were on their way. The nightmare continued to build and Sam felt like bolting as fast as he could away from the terrifying sound. The man who had called him Rose, though, continued to talk to the first creature, apparently unaffected by the horror around him.

"I did my duty for Queen and country."

"Yes... so you did," the Doctor replied darkly.

"They will not pass," the creature that once was Yvonne Hartmann, head of the Torchwood Institute, informed him.

"And how can I be sure of that?" the Doctor questioned, blatantly suspicious. "You're a Cyberman now. How can I trust you?"

"Doctor..." the creature replied. "I... feel."

A pause filled the stairwell before the Doctor spoke. "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry." The tone itself spoke of the sincerity of his words.

"To live like this is worse than death. The Cybermen will be deleted."

"And you?" the Doctor questioned softly.

"All Cybermen will be deleted. You must leave." The creature stomped out of the way.

Sam heard the sadness in the creature's and the man's voices. While still concerned with all the things he was seeing and hearing, his heart reacted to the emotions. "Maybe there's another way?"

The Doctor swallowed slightly before pulling his companion passed the Cyber creature. He stopped for a moment, looking towards it. "Torchwood has to end here," he informed her bluntly.

"This Torchwood will be deleted," came the assurance.

Sensing his friend's unease - or at least knowing that she would protest - the Doctor turned to Sam. "Rose, there isn't any other way. It's too late for that." He turned back to the Cyber. "I'm going to trust you. You get only one chance."

"Confirmed."

Sam nodded his head, sadly. He wondered if he was here to find another way, but not knowing anything at the moment about where he was or even what the logical explanation to what he was seeing was, he couldn't risk it. His gut told him to trust this man and so, until Al showed up and gave him more information, he went with the flow. "All right. What do we do now?"

"We run," the Doctor replied. He again looked to the Cyber. "Good luck... Yvonne Hartmann." With that, he started again down the stairs at a run, glancing over his shoulder briefly to make sure that Sam was following him. Following his instincts, he made his way down one more level before bursting through the doors. "Where is she?" he muttered to himself before spotting a blue police box behind some crates. "Brilliant!" he exclaimed, hurrying to it. "Allons-y!"

Sam ran after the man whom the metal creature had addressed as "Doctor" as if that was his name. The man appeared to be running towards a blue police box, which Sam realized likely meant they were in England. He figured that put him sometime before 1968. It didn't seem right, though, since he noticed high-rise buildings through the windows they passed which had recognizable landmarks of London. He'd been to England several times before and he knew the skyline of London almost as well as he knew Einstein's Theory of General Relativity. However, this skyline had buildings he'd never seen before, which told him that it had to be sometime after the last time he'd visited London which was after 1968. It was like he was in a mix of times, not that the concept gave him any comfort. A mix of times would likely mean that anything he was seeing was a figment of his imagination, whether dream, drug, or insanity induced. Besides, what would a police box be doing inside a high-rise anyway? He sprinted ahead, sure that their destination must be somewhere beyond this room and was likely through the next set of doors. He passed the Doctor in an easy sprint, bypassing the small blue structure.

"Rose!" the Doctor called out, seeing his companion going right passed their destination. "Where are you going?" He hurried to stop Sam, reaching out just in time to see a Cyberman heading their way. "Whoa!" he cried, grabbing Sam's arm and running back towards the police box just as a laser-like blast flew through the space where Sam had been only a moment before. Hurriedly reaching into his trouser pocket, he pulled out a key and unlocked the box. He quickly stepped in, grabbing his friend's arm to force her to follow, slamming the door behind them. "That was too close!" he exclaimed. "What the hell were you doing out there?" Without waiting for an answer, he rushed to an oddly organic looking circular contraption in the center of the equally odd-looking room.

Sam stopped, completely dumbfounded by what he was seeing. The man had pulled him into the small police box, but the room around him looked like a cavern. As the man did something with some strange instruments, Sam became curious. This was like nothing he'd ever seen before although it clearly was a creation of his imagination. Deciding to investigate this vision, he opened the door, ready to step out to take a look at the object from the outside when he was again stopped by what appeared before his eyes. He was certain now that he'd passed up sanity entirely. The swirling colors around him looked more like the hallucinations from a psychoactive drug which would explain a lot if his host had ingested some. The sounds around him didn't help either. "Oh, boy," he said quietly under his breath. He suddenly felt very lost. Was this a leap? The Bartender had told him the leaps would get harder and, he had to admit, many of them had been difficult. Still, he'd managed to keep his sanity. Now, though...he heard the sound of the man's talking but none of it made any sense to him. He closed his eyes hoping this would all just go away. The man that he currently referred to as 'Doctor' hadn't stopped talking since the moment Sam had entered the Twilight Zone and none of it made sense. He was grateful for the ripping mechanical sound that almost drowned out the man's rant. Almost.

"There are certain rules, Rose, that you seemed to have completely and totally forgotten. And rule number one is when I say go to the TARDIS, you go to the TARDIS, not pass it up like a marathon runner and especially not in a building full of Cybermen! I honestly don't know what is going on with you. Maybe the Void has had some kind of weird effect on you. Certainly would help explain why the void stuff is suddenly gone. Then again, if you were affected, I should have been affected, which I haven't been. I'm going to have to run some tests..." He raised his head and suddenly noticed his companion staring out of the TARDIS' doors... and into the Vortex. "Rose! Are you mad?!" He hurried over and rapidly closed the doors.

Sam felt the man rush past him. He opened his eyes and realized he could no longer see the colors swirling. A moment later, he realized it was because the doors had been closed and the man was again addressing him. He answered truthfully, "I think I must be."

"Opening the doors while we're dematerialized is extremely dangerous!" the Doctor berated, seeming not to have heard Sam's words as he blocked the exit physically with his thin body. "I told you a long time ago. Never EVER open the doors while we're dematerialized!"

Looking at the man again, Sam tried to figure this out. He focused on the title. Doctor. The man was supposedly a doctor. "Are you my doctor?" he asked, hoping that was the string that would lead back to sanity assuming he was in a leap.

The rebuking gaze quickly changed to one of great concern. "Of course, I'm the Doctor. Are you all right? You don't look well."

A word the man had used suddenly seemed like a lifeline. "Dematerialized?" Sam now wondered if he was somewhere between leaps. That would explain it all. Maybe the dream hypothesis was right; he was dreaming a nightmare. "I think I want to wake up now." A very weak smile graced the human time leaper's face. When it didn't seem like that was going to happen, he sighed. It didn't appear that waking up was an option. He'd just have to continue down the rabbit hole awhile longer.

_Shock_, the Doctor thought, trying to find a reason for Rose's sudden change in behavior. _She's just fully realized that she's never going to see either Mickey or Jackie ever again and she's going into shock._ He frowned slightly. _Still... there's something else odd about her. Shock wouldn't explain the lack of void stuff._ Considering all that had just happened, he decided that it would be prudent to make sure that he could isolate Rose if necessary. If it were more than shock and required immediate medical attention, the console room was ill-equipped to handle it. Gently taking her arm, he told her gently, "I'm taking you to the infirmary."

"Okay," the confused man answered allowing this doctor to lead him. The cavernous room led to a winding corridor. There seemed to be multiple rooms off of it. Suddenly he realized something and spoke it out loud. "This is similar to a Klein bottle."

The Doctor raised an eyebrow with surprise. "You know about Klein bottles? Continuous surfaces and all that?" Obviously there was something going on that couldn't be easily explained away. He shrugged slightly, knowing that he'd discover the reason soon enough. "The TARDIS isn't quite like a Klein bottle. Klein bottles are finite. Well... finite-ish. The TARDIS is infinite. Well... semi-infinite. Well... sorta semi-infinite." He looked around with a frown. "And for some reason, she's not being very cooperative. The infirmary's supposed to be around here somewhere..."

"She?" Sam wondered if all these confusing activities were because something was wrong with Ziggy, who was being called Tardis for an unknown reason. He asked, again thinking that perhaps this was the road out of madness. "This Tardis isn't a computer, is she?"

The Time Lord looked at him with dark eyes. Now he was certain, without any doubts, that there was something wrong. Either his faithful companion was suffering from a severe case of sudden amnesia... or she wasn't his faithful companion after all. The only way he was going to be able to know for certain was to get this person into the medical bay and run a scan on her. For the time being, however, it seemed prudent to play along. "Oh, Rose, you know the TARDIS is far more than a computer," he stated plainly. "Don't upset her any more than she already obviously is. Probably has something to do with Torchwood trying to get into her." He patted a nearby wall. "Now, there. Everything's all right. Just... give me the infirmary, old girl."

A moment later, the walls seemed to shift around them and a door that hadn't been there before suddenly appeared to their left.

Sam watched the walls moving and realized that the drug hypothesis was coming up from behind in the race of explanations. Maybe he was magnafluxing. "Infirmary?"

"Infirmary!" the Doctor confirmed with a manic grin. "Come on. Let's have a look at you." He stepped through the door and waited. "Well, are you coming? I don't have eternity. But then again, time is relative, isn't it?"

Realizing the truth in that statement, the leaper dryly responded, "Yeah, you have no idea." He walked into the strangely appointed room.

The Doctor looked at his companion with suspicion before gesturing towards the nearest medical couch. "Have a seat." He reached into his jacket and pulled out an odd cylindrical object. Tapping away at it, he then pressed a button, aiming it at Rose's chest. Immediately, a blue light came from the tip, accompanied by a high-pitched electrical sound.

Not recognizing the tool, Sam asked, "What's that?"

The Doctor ignored the question as he scanned the person in front of him. "Blood seems clean," he commented before frowning. He raised the sonic screwdriver and gazed on it, his frown growing. "But somehow your blood type's changed." Twisting here and pressing there, he scanned again. "And your gender's changed," he added with a frown which increased rapidly into incredulity. "And your DNA has changed!" Abruptly, he took a step back, twisting the sonic screwdriver again before aiming it at the person he now was certain wasn't his Rose. "Who are you and what have you done to Rose Tyler?" he asked, his voice turning dark.

Knowing that the man must be seeing Rose Tyler's aura but obviously seeing through the mask that a leap entailed, Sam's forehead crinkled. "You wouldn't believe me if I told you. Don't worry, though, your lady friend is safe."

The Doctor didn't react to Sam's reassurances. At least, not the way Sam expected. If anything, he became far more volatile. "You're not from Raxacoricofallapatorius and wearing Rose's skin so you must be something else. Something I haven't encountered yet. So, what are you? And where is Rose? What have you done to her?" he shouted, his fury growing.

There was sound that made Sam look around. Rather it was the lack of a sound that had been there but was now gone. It was as if something had changed, like an engine had been shut off. He couldn't figure out what had changed now, though. Not with the obviously enraged man in front of him. Based on the doctor's reaction, he decided to tell him the truth. He didn't expect to be believed. "I'm a scientist. My experiment sort of zigged when it should have zagged. Your friend is back at the project in my aura and I..." He waved his hands at the aura he was in. "...am in hers." Even as Sam tried to explain the situation to the angry man before him, the sound of the Imaging Chamber door filtered through.

"Sam, I wasn't sure we were going to find you. Ziggy just got a lock. And you are not going to believe this girl we have in the Waiting Room. She keeps demanding to see a doctor but every time we send Beeks in, she starts yelling at the top of her lungs," Al informed as he walked in. "She..." He looked around. "Sam... what the hell is going on here?"

"What project?" the Doctor demanded.

"Al!" Sam said, relieved at seeing his friend. At least that was something normal. Well, as normal as it got leaping through time. He turned to the doctor. "Project Quantum Leap. It deals with time travel."

"Sam, what the hell are you doing?!"

"Your friend has a point. What are you doing meddling with time travel?" the Doctor questioned, not moving from his position.

Al frowned with concern. "Sam... can he... can he hear me?"

The Doctor rolled his eyes slightly, dropping his arm and turning towards the Admiral. "Of course, I can hear you! I'm not deaf!"

Sam looked from one man to the other. "What? Maybe it's the brain waves again, like with Blake..."

Al shook his head, pounding at the handlink. "Ziggy doesn't know what to think of this guy, Sam. In fact, there isn't even a hint of a record. Who the hell is this yo-yo?"

"Brainwaves!" the Doctor smiled slightly at Sam's supposition. "I'm not supposed to see him, am I? Let me guess. He's a neurological hologram tuned to the mesons in your brain. Oh, that's brilliant! Elementary, of course. But brilliant, nonetheless." He frowned slightly. "What year are you from? Human aren't supposed to have that kind of technology for another hundred fifty years."

"Elementary?" Sam responded with indignation.

The Doctor started to pace slightly. "Of course, it would have to be a fairly short temporal distance, no more than... oh, a hundred years. Maybe two hundred at the most. Or a few thousand with the right upgrades. Which means that you could possibly have that kind of technology." He turned to the Admiral again, looking at his attire. "But based on what you're wearing, I'd say you're in the late 20th century, early 21st perhaps. By the way, nice suit," he commented before turning back to Sam. "But you still have a lot to explain. Where... is... Rose... Tyler?" he demanded again. "When is she?"

Sam gave a slightly crooked grin. "Well, I'm not sure. I mean, I can't remember. I know I've been leaping quite awhile now so I don't know what year Al is in presently. As to where, she's in the Waiting Room at the Project. That's in..." He suddenly looked confused. "…some place I don't remember."

The Doctor looked at Sam with growing sympathy. "'Zigged when it should have zagged.' Time travel without a capsule is a killer. Plus you probably didn't have the parameters quite correct, did you? Causes amnesia every time you travel through time. I'm so sorry."

A slight frown crossed Sam's face. "Who are you and how do you know so much about these things?" He looked around. "And while you're at it, you want to explain this place and when and where I am?"

"I'm the Doctor," the Time Lord replied, folding his arms over his chest. "And I know more about temporal physics than you ever will. And you?"

"Sam, don't tell him anymore!" Al protested vehemently.

"That's a pretty high opinion you have of yourself," Sam commented, knowing that in temporal physics, he certainly didn't know everything but knew more than just about anyone on the planet, not that he was smug about it. "I'm Sam Beckett." He looked over to his partner. "Come on, Al, he knows I'm not Rose Tyler." He turned back to the Doctor. "And I really would like to know your name. I'm a doctor too, but I don't push it."

"That doesn't give him the right to know about the project!" Al argued. "We don't know anything about this guy!"

The Doctor was frowning slightly. "Sam Beckett. I've heard that name before. Other than the playwright that is." He scrutinized Sam. "You're not related to the playwright, are you? Now, Beckett, he was an interesting fellow." He grimaced. "Couldn't make tea to save his life."

"I don't think I'm related to him," answered the time lost physicist. "Although I do like tea."

"So did Beckett," the Doctor groused. He made a slight gagging sound before suddenly grinning. "Tea! That's what we need! Good cuppa! We can talk over tea! And I know just the place!" He started out the infirmary door, heading down the corridor towards the console room. "Rextar Seven! Best tea in the Rextar system!" He hesitated, turning to look at Sam, who had quickly followed him. "No... I think Paris would be better. But they're more coffee drinkers than tea." He thought for a moment. "I know! Cardiff! We can fuel up while we have a cuppa... and you can explain yourself."

"Sam, I wouldn't go to Cardiff!" Al exclaimed.

The Doctor turned towards the Admiral, pondering for a moment. "You know... I think he's right. We'll go to Rextar Seven after all." He gave Al a glare. "Where we can talk in private." He continued on into the console room and noted the time rotor on the console had stopped. "We apparently materialized. Let me just verify something right quick..." He glanced at the monitor on the central console, noting the complete lack of activity in the area that was known as Canary Wharf. "Good. Yvonne kept her word." Grinning at Sam, he then made the necessary adjustments to the coordinates.

"Sam..." Al called out softly, gaining his friend's attention. "According to Ziggy, there's no such thing as Rextar Seven. I think this guy's a little bananas, if you know what I mean."

"Well, if it's not there, we won't be going, will we?" answered Sam, intrigued by what he was slowly starting to accept was the only reality he was going to have for awhile no matter what the source was. At least, it was a reality he was becoming more familiar with, if not comfortable. He followed the Doctor back to the cavern.

"Yes, but it also means that you're following a mad man!"

"At this point, Al, I'm not sure it's not the mad following the mad."

"Now," the Doctor commented as Sam walked into the console room. "Coordinates are set." He gave Sam a peculiar look. "Ready?" Not waiting for an answer, he exclaimed, "Allons-y!" as he flicked a switch, instantly causing the room to shake.

"Sam!" Al yelled, noticing how the connection between the present and the past started to fade quickly.

The leaper looked towards his friend, who flickered for a moment and then simply ceased to exist. "Al?" Sam questioned. "Where did my friend go?"

"He's still back on Earth in the 21st century," the Doctor told him as they clung to the TARDIS' console while the room shook. "He's perfectly fine, though I imagine that he's probably spitting bullets... or whatever you Americans say."

"What do you mean 'back on Earth in the 21st century?' I can only travel on Earth in either the late 20th or early 21st centuries. My own lifetime." He paused. "Well, maybe Al's since we have mixed mesons now." He figured he shouldn't bring up the one time when he'd traveled along his familial DNA. It didn't seem to be pertinent.

"Oh, that's because you didn't set the parameters correctly. Now you're stuck with traveling in your own lifetime and there's no way out of that until you correct it."

"Correct it?"

"Of course, that would depend on which parameters weren't set correctly in the first place. And finding out those would take at least one of my lifetimes. There is an easier way, though. You need a time vortex manipulator," he replied bluntly. "Unfortunately, those aren't going to be around for another 30 centuries." The TARDIS continued shaking for several minutes before stopping abruptly, causing Sam to fall to the grated metal floor while the Doctor seemed unaffected. "Now I remember you! Dr. Samuel Beckett. Born 8th of August 1953. Nobel Prize winner and mankind's 21st century Einstein." He gave him a manic grin. "You're brilliant!"

The human time traveler looked up with a shy grin. "That's me and thanks, although I think the designation of Einstein was... well..." He hated when people compared him to his idol. "...a bit much. But that puts you at an advantage. I still don't know your name."

"Of course, you do," the Time Lord replied with a frown. "I told you. I'm the Doctor."

"Yeah, but doctor who?"

"Just... the Doctor."

"Fine, don't tell me," Sam groused. "You just want me to keep calling you 'the Doctor.'"

"Well, if you have to give me a _human_ name, I have gone by Dr. John Smith. But my name is the Doctor." He looked down at Sam, who was still sitting on the floor. "Are you going to sit there all day?"

Sam started to get up. "I just figured, if we start moving again, it was safer down here. Do you even know how to drive this thing?" He added, "Doctor."

"Of course, I do!" the Gallifreyan protested. "And we've landed so you can stand now. Come on." He walked over to the door and reached out to take the handle. "Brand new world outside."

Sam followed him not at all sure what he'd see when the doors opened. "You sure we won't have those swirly colors again?"

"We were in the Vortex then. Perfectly safe now." He wiggled his eyebrows slightly. "Dr. Samuel Beckett from Elk Ridge, Indiana, in the country of the United States of America, on the planet Earth, welcome... to Rextar Seven." He opened the door melodramatically and stepped aside, watching Sam's face.

Sam felt like he'd stepped into a fantasy land of enchantment. The grass, if that's what it was, was purple, the hills in the distance, a bright yellow. The sky was a light shade of orange. "Lucy in the sky with diamonds," he breathed right before passing out.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

_Project Quantum Leap _

_February 2010_

"Gooshie? Tell me Sam's leapt!"

Gooshie, the head programmer for Project Quantum Leap, shook his head in confusion to the Observer's demand before replying hesitantly. "I'm sorry, Admiral. Ziggy... she... she doesn't think so."

Al pinched his nose. "Damn it. I knew I couldn't trust that guy, whoever he is. Well, start trying to find him. Maybe Rextar is a code word or something." He put the handlink back into its holder as he exited the Imaging Chamber. "I'll be in my office."

"Umm... Admiral..." Gooshie put in as Al moved to leave the Control Room. "The Captain is waiting for you there."

"The Captain's here? When did he arrive?"

"About a half an hour ago. He wanted Ziggy to... how did he put it?... 'number crunch' a couple of things. He said he wanted to check on the troops while he was at it."

"Figures." Al walked slowly to think things out first before meeting with his 'boss.' Captain Harkness had been true to his word since he'd stepped in and saved the project. After a shaky beginning, Al had decided Jack had his quirks but, overall, was a good guy. Since their first meeting, their relationship had stabilized and was now amicable. He knew was going to have to tell him about Sam's current situation and the concerns he had. He figured that having Jack meet the leapee might be a good idea.

Jack Harkness, head of Torchwood Two and now of Project Quantum Leap, leaned against the wall in the hallway just outside of Al's office. "Al!" he greeted the moment he saw the man approaching.

"Hi, Jack. Just heard you'd arrived. Gooshie said you've been here about a half hour?"

"Landed in Albuquerque about two hours ago. Came straight here."

"Great. Come on in. You want some coffee?"

"Oh, I'd murder a cup," Jack proclaimed as he followed the Admiral into the office. "Black."

Al smiled. "I remember." He fixed their coffees and handed one to Jack. Taking a deep breath to steel himself, he decided to present the problem at hand. "Unfortunately, I've got some rather... um... difficult news to convey dealing with Sam's latest leap."

Jack had already taken a sip and was about to take another when Al said a word he didn't really like. Having funded PQL for nearly five years, he knew that when Al used that language, something was definitely not right. "I don't like it when you use the word 'unfortunately,'" he admitted. "It's usually followed by some type of disaster."

The retired naval man gave him a weak grin and forged ahead, ignoring the critique of his choice of phrase. "Do you remember when I told you about the time we lost Sam? Couldn't find him anywhere for a long time because there was no one in the Waiting Room?"

"There's no one in the Waiting Room again?"

"No. There's someone in the Waiting Room. The problem is, the leapee isn't being cooperative and after finding Sam... well, he's disappeared. It's like he's fallen off the face of the Earth and out of time... again."

Jack froze slightly at Al's words. "Well, where do you think he's gone? And who's the leapee? I'm sure there has to be a reasonable explanation. You did find him eventually that other time. Said so yourself."

"Yeah, but Ziggy's freaking out on this one. The man he's with told him they were going to Rextar Seven. The woman that Sam's leapt into keeps asking for a doctor but every time we try to help her she threatens us."

"Rextar Seven? Are you sure about that? And a doctor?" He paused dramatically, putting his mug down on Al's desk. "Or is it _the_ Doctor that she's asking for?"

Al's eyebrows went up slightly at Jack's quick grasp of the situation. "Yeah. That's exactly how she asks. 'I demand to see _the_ doctor.' This Rose Tyler seems like a formidable woman." He paused when Jack didn't answer. "We were able to track Sam to London about three years ago. Then..."

Jack was certain that all the blood had just drained from his face at the sound of the leapee's name. "Rose?" he whispered before swallowing tightly. "Rose is in the Waiting Room?" Without hearing the answer, he hurried out the door and ran towards the Control Room.

Al watched as Jack finally reacted in a manner he didn't expect. It seemed that perhaps Jack knew the leapee and if so... He hurried after the American ex-patriot.

The former Time Agent flew into the Control Room, his overcoat trailing behind him almost as if it were a cape. "Open the Waiting Room door! Now!" he ordered Gooshie, pointing at the redheaded programmer.

"Wait, Jack. Just hear me out," Al called to him. "I don't have a problem with you going in and seeing this woman that you obviously know. However... she might not know you. You know it's not only Sam that gets amnesia but the leapee as well. Like I've told you before, the first time Sam leapt he didn't remember me. We'd been best friends for over ten years and built this project together but he couldn't even remember my name. Hell, he couldn't remember his. He thought he was in a reverse reincarnation that's entered in mid-life, for God's sake."

Jack gave him a slight glare, having already heard the story several times before. "That was Dr. Beckett. This is Rose Tyler. So she might have a few holes in her memory. But if she remembers the Doctor, she'll remember me."

Al wasn't sure he agreed with Jack. He'd seen too many times of partial memories but figured it wasn't the time to split hairs. "Okay. Maybe Rose is a special case... so let's move on. Now, since the door is locked on both sides, Ziggy will have to distract her before the door is opened. That's been the protocol since we had that leapee escape years ago. Don't want to relive that." He made his request to Ziggy. A moment later, the door opened and Al slid in, followed by Jack.

Jack stared at the sight before him. A lot had happened in the last one hundred seventy plus years. His senses of smell and taste had become enhanced. His hearing was sharper than ever. And he'd found he could see through auras created through time manipulation. There she was, standing on the other end of the room, having quickly turned around at the sound of the door.

Rose stared at the two men, her heart beating rapidly. It had to be her imagination. "Jack?"

"Rose! It is you." He looked her up and down. He could see Rose clearly and also see the ghost-like figure of Sam Beckett. While he'd seen other leapees before, this time the fact that it was a person he knew made it somewhat disconcerting. The white Fermi suit clung to her body, leaving nothing to the imagination. "You're definitely looking well." A slight leer reached his eyes.

Rose squealed with delight at the innuendo. "It _is_ you!" she exclaimed, hurrying around the table to jump into his arms, wrapping her limbs around him. Jumping down, she started for the door. "We've got to find the Doctor and the TARDIS and get out of here."

"Well, I've got to say, this is an experience. A nice one," he said at her exuberance. At her insistent words, he stopped her abruptly. "Rose, do you trust me?"

She frowned, looking at him with growing concern. "Why would you even ask me that?" She glanced between her friend and the man next to him, one she recognized as keeping her prisoner wherever she was. "Jack, what's goin' on here?"

"Well, let just say you've been drawn into a different 'time' situation."

Al looked over to Jack with a tilted head. "What the hell does that mean?"

Jack didn't get the chance to reply, Rose's own questions interrupting first. "How do you mean 'different'? Does this have to do with me looking like..." She gave him a wicked, teasing grin, "... a fella more good-looking than you?"

The former Time Agent grabbed at his chest melodramatically. "Oh, now that wounds me. Dr. Beckett is good looking, no doubt. But more good-looking than _me_?" He gave her another look, focusing on the ghost shape. "Although, he does look rather hot."

Rose laughed with joy at hearing his teasing response. Her expression changed slightly when she noticed how he was checking her out. "Oi! I'm here, not him!"

He grinned. "You're both there. Lovely to look at, delightful to hold."

"Oh, you say that to all the boys and girls," Rose taunted.

Al coughed. "Um, Jack? Back to the matter at hand?"

Jack frowned. "Are you always this prudish?"

The Admiral looked indignant. "I'm not prudish."

"Seems prudish to me," Rose murmured conspiratorially to Jack.

"Wait until you meet Beckett," Al answered dryly.

"Right," she commented with a tilt of her head. "Speaking of which... freaky reflection in the mirror... what's that about?"

Jack took a deep breath. "You're now part of a time travel experiment that..."

"...went a little caca," Al finished for him.

Rose gave a little grin. "Like the Doctor actually landing the TARDIS where he intends."

Al's eyes narrowed. "What's a Tardis?"

"Time and Relative Dimension in Space," Jack and Rose replied at exactly the same time.

Seeing the confused look on Al's face, Jack added, "It's... complicated. Sort of a more advanced version of Dr. Beckett's experiment."

"So, I've traveled in time," Rose supposed. "Where's the Doctor and when am I?"

Jack shrugged. "According to my compatriot, he may have gone to Rextar Seven. Probably for tea."

Rose huffed, pulling herself onto the table with a sort of slump. "I'd murder a cuppa on Rextar Seven right now," she murmured.

Al was beginning to get a headache. "Ziggy says there's no such place as Rextar Seven on Earth."

"Exactly," answered Jack. Turning back to Rose, "As to when, you're in..."

Al stopped him. "We can't tell the leapees when they are."

Rose raised her eyebrows. "Oh, I think I can figure it out on my own."

"Can you now? When do you think you are?"

"Those clothes you're wearing. Late twentieth century, early twenty-first. American accent. Air conditioning on high, no windows," Rose stated, listing what she knew. "I'd say... North American desert. Probably a military installation, given that you are United States Navy."

"Well, not much different from your time." He considered her words. "But what do you mean 'Late twentieth century, early twenty-first.' Like there's anything else? And how do you know I'm U.S. Navy?"

Jack smiled. "You're wearing your class ring. Rose is a very observant person."

"And you would know," she teased. "And, obviously, he didn't pass any of his History classes."

"I was fine with history," Al said narrowing his eyes. "I'm just saying, for you, what else would there be? You look like you're only about 18, 19 maybe."

"Nearly twenty!" she protested. "I may not have been the best student in school but I know the difference between a modern suit and a suit of armour."

"Suit of armour? When would you ever have seen someone in one of those?"

Jack interjected. "Renaissance Fair?"

"Oh, don't start," Rose berated. "You were there too, you know!"

"Were where?" Al queried.

"The Middle Ages," she replied haphazardly.

"Are you trying to tell me you've traveled in time before? Some other way?"

"We had a designated driver," she commented as if that answered everything. "Speaking of which... time travel experiment in the early twenty-first century. Isn't that a bit ahead of its time? I mean, time travel isn't supposed to be around for another three thousand years or so."

Jack shrugged. "This project probably started it all. Very primitive."

Al's back straightened. "Primitive?"

"Well, it's beyond cutting edge for this time period if that makes you feel better."

"So... no time vortex..." A frightened look crossed Rose's face. "Jack..." she started, swallowing.

Jack went over to her, realizing she was probably experiencing the amnesia effect. He took her shoulders gently. "Don't worry, Rose. This is a temporary side effect of this form of time travel."

She gasped slightly. "It's like... I remember you and the Doctor and the TARDIS... but..." She swallowed. "Where am I from? Do I have a mum... a dad?"

He looked away. This wasn't the time to tell her that her dad had died when she was still an infant and that her mum was presumed dead after the Battle of Canary Wharf. "Yes. You have a mum. Jackie Tyler. Do you remember?"

"No," she sobbed, rubbing her eyes. "I remember... falling..."

Jack looked at Al to fill in. Al shrugged. "When we finally found Sam, he was in a medical room or something. Then they moved to another room where there was some machine in the middle. It made a weird sound." He turned to Rose. "I'm sorry. Until we can locate Dr. Beckett, that's all I can tell you."

She brushed her hair away from her face, sniffing slightly. "I thought I was going to fall. The Doctor was yelling something and then... I was here."

"When Dr. Beckett leaps in, he displaces the person whose aura he inhabits. He is seen as you. That's why you look in the mirror and see him. It's just his aura."

"So... the Doctor will see me instead of him? Does he even know where I am?" Panic started to seep into her voice.

Al squirmed a little. "Well, for some reason, he seems to have figured out that Sam is not you. Sam doesn't remember where or when you are and I wasn't about to tell him." At the look on her face, he explained. "This project is top secret." His voice grew softer. "He does know you're safe."

Rose shook her head. "You don't know the Doctor. He won't believe it until he sees me. He won't leave me here."

"Well, if he took Dr. Beckett to Rextar Seven, it looks like he's comfortable about it for now," Jack pointed out. "Remember, once he figures things out, he can be here.. oh... when you first got here. In the meantime, you're safe."

She sniffed back her emotions. "But I can't leave this room. Am I right?"

Al pursed his lips a bit and sighed. This was a special case based on what Jack had told him and demanded special procedures. He decided that he could explain some things to her. "Okay, this is the deal. We've already established this project is an experiment in time travel. Well, during Dr. Beckett's first leap, something sort of decided to use him. We've found that Sam leaps into people to change something that went wrong in the original history. Once Sam changes it, he leaps out and the other person leaps back in. To make sure that happens, the leapee - that's you - needs to be in this room."

"You can't just change history!" she protested. "Can you?"

"Eleven years of leaping, trust me. This is what happens." Al sighed. "Sam's changed things in my life. In the timeline when we met, I was a five-time divorcee with no children. Now I've been married to my first wife, Beth, for forty-seven years and have four beautiful daughters." He glanced at Jack. "All of them are still married."

Rose noted the way Al was looking at her friend. "You hit on them, didn't you?"

Jack grinned. "Well, I would have, but I never got the chance."

"And you won't." Al turned back to Rose. "The thing is, right now, I can't interact with Sam, and Ziggy has no idea of what he's there to change." He called out into the room. "Any theories, Ziggy?"


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

_"Any theories, Ziggy?"_

The cool measured tones of a woman entered the room. "This situation is outside of my parameters, Admiral. Dr. Beckett did not program me to compute these probabilities when other time travelers are involved. However it appears that Dr. Beckett has already changed history," the parallel hybrid computer replied. "According to the records that I have found, Rose Tyler died at what had become known as the Battle of Canary Wharf."

"Torchwood," Rose suddenly stated, her gaze at nothing in particular.

Jack looked uncomfortable. "Um... Torch... what?"

"The Battle of Canary Wharf. Torchwood was behind it. The Doctor and I were there. The ghosts were Cybermen and..." She stopped her memory failing her slightly. "And I was going to fall."

Al nodded. "Those... robots... They were in the US too and then... gone." He looked at Jack. "You were in England then. Is that where they went? Canary Wharf?"

"Into the Void," Rose added, sounding unsure of her own words. She shook her head to clear it, regaining her composure. "Who was giving you all that info? Did she say I... died?"

"Ziggy's our computer. She was reporting on the timelines."

"That was a computer? Sexy voice," she commented. "Your idea, Jack?"

"Dr. Beckett's," the computer intoned.

"Yes, Ziggy," Al dismissed. He turned to Rose. "She's... temperamental."

"I heard that, Admiral."

Rose chuckled slightly. "I think she likes you."

"We get along."

She hesitated before giving him a wicked grin. "That's not what I meant."

He didn't respond to her innuendo. "Anyway, Ziggy monitors the room and reacts to our requests."

"Kind of like how the TARDIS does," Jack added.

"Oh," Rose replied softly. Giving a weak smile, she asked, "I'm guessing she can't just let me out of here though."

"No," Al said kindly. "But we'll make your stay as pleasant as we can."

"I suppose I'll just have to trust you on that," she commented. After a pause, she requested, "Could Jack and I can be alone for a bit?"

Al nodded. What could he say? Jack was his boss. "I'll be outside, Jack."

"Okay, Al. I'll be right out. I'm putting Ziggy on privacy though."

"I understand." The door opened and Al left.

Rose sat in silence for a few seconds, a thousand thoughts running through her mind. "I missed you," she admitted.

"I missed you." He paused. "In fact, I've missed you for a hundred seventy years."

"A hundred..." she began, stunned by the amount of time. "But... you don't look that different. Different hair... looks like you got some work done but... You can't be that old."

"Well, you know how time travel is..."

"So, does that mean you traveled from 170 years ago? Or have you actually been around for the last 170 years?" She huffed. "And here I thought you were human like me. The Doctor's over 900 so... doesn't bother me."

"I am human. But not like you."

"So what's that supposed to mean?"

"It means, if you and the Doctor weren't so close, maybe you and I..."

With a sigh, she shook her head. "You're covering up something." Seeing the look he gave her, she explained, "You always flirted with me like mad whenever you didn't want me to be hurt."

"I'm not covering anything."

"You don't want to tell me, fine," she proclaimed, a hint of anger and annoyance in her voice as she brought up her legs to sit Indian style on the table. "You're the one who said you haven't seen me in 170 years."

"That's true."

"The Doctor said you were busy rebuilding the Earth. I assumed you'd stayed voluntarily." She bit her lip as the implications of her words hit her. "But you didn't, did you?"

A sad look crossed his face. "No, not voluntarily."

She dropped her hands, hurt in her eyes. "But why would he do that? Why would he just... leave you? People were dying and... he sent me home and... I don't remember the rest."

The ex-Time Agent looked at Rose with sympathy, not knowing whether it was the amnesia from leaping or something else that had blocked the horrible memories of the battle on Game Station. He wished he could block it out. He still remembered standing before the Daleks, waiting for the killing blow... and then suddenly finding himself alive after he had died. He almost envied Rose at that moment. "You don't have to remember."

Rose looked at him with growing frustration. "Why not? What happened?"

He sighed. "It was... bad. I wasn't sure if any of us would survive."

"You did. All three of us did. Well, sort of."

Jack cocked his head, wondering what she remembered. "What do you mean?"

"The Doctor was dying," she explained. "And he changed. Called it 'regeneration.' New face and everything. Took me a while to accept that he still was the Doctor."

"So... do you think he looks as good as Beckett?"

Rose chuckled slightly. "Well, Beckett may be cute but... he's no Doctor. He likes his new looks, but much to his chagrin... he's not ginger."

"Did he complain about that?" Jack queried with a laugh.

"Yeah. He said he always wanted to be ginger. You remember. He was so... down to Earth, I guess, but still had a great sense of humor and that grin. He hasn't lost the grin but now... well, he practically bounces off the walls. It's like... he's on his fifth childhood or something."

"Well, he deserves another childhood with as much as he's faced. What do you think of him?"

"Oh, I LOVE him! He's so different and yet... he's still the Doctor." She lowered her head. "I miss him already."

"I don't think this project is going to be able to contact them. At least not until they land in Dr. Beckett's lifetime on Earth."

"So, no contact with Rextar Seven."

"Nope. As I said, this project is primitive. Sorry, Ziggy, but to me, it's true."

"She's listening in?"

"She always listens. She's in privacy mode, though. I'll be the only human that will see these transcripts."

"I suppose that's something. She isn't... like... alien technology or anything?"

Jack shook his head. "Beckett is brilliant. He has six doctorates including one in computer science and another in quantum physics. He figured out a way to build a parallel hybrid computer years before they become common."

"Sounds like he and the Doctor are going to get along just fine," she groused.

"I'm sure you'll be back with him in no time, Rose." He looked at her concerned with her change in attitude.

"And in the meantime, I'm stuck."

He took a breath. "When Calavicci told me about this changing time thing, I didn't believe him. I've read the transcripts of the man's leaps though. This is for real, although I still don't really like it."

"Is it true then? That I was... dead?"

Jack saw that Rose was becoming somewhat distraught. He put his hand against her neck, kindly.

She jumped slightly at an odd feeling, like a pinprick. "What was that?"

"I guess my ring scratched you. Sorry." He then went on to answer her question. "Yeah, you were dead. Well, at least from the perspective of Earth. You know how it is with the Doctor. Dead doesn't mean forever."

Rose blinked, unsure what Jack meant by those words. Deciding that she was reading more into it than was really there, she sighed and quickly found the sigh turning into a yawn.

"Well, Rose Tyler. I'm sorry to say that, for the time being, you're going to need to stay here with this project, at least until Dr. Beckett leaps again."

"And when will that be?" she questioned, a second yawn invading her words.

"I don't know. I guess when God, Fate, Time, or Whatever, as they call it here, decides it's...time."

Rose hummed slightly as she leaned against Jack's shoulder, her eyes drifting closed. "I missed you," she muttered, repeating her previous sentiment.

He gave her a hug. "I've missed you too. I'm glad we've met again."

She didn't answer, her steady breathing indicating that she had fallen asleep on her friend's shoulder.

He kissed the top of her head and, lifting her from the table, carried her and laid her down on the queen size bed that had been added as part of the upgrade, pulling the covers over her. "Take care of her, Ziggy."

"What did you do?" the computer asked suspiciously.

He readjusted his ring. It was a sleep enhancer from the planet Salliniar which he had obsconced from Torchwood. "Oh, old Sallitorian trick. Used a sleep ring to put her out. This situation is pretty stressful for her and I want her to rest. She won't wake for a few hours. Just watch over her, okay?"

"Of course, Captain Harkness," Ziggy replied, stating his name in that peculiar way she had always done, as if she knew a secret she wasn't going to reveal.

When he left the room, he wasn't surprised to find Al waiting for him in the Control Room. "We've got to talk."

"We'll talk in my office," Al suggested.

Agreeing, they headed back to Al's office. Once inside, the Admiral waited for Jack to speak first. Jack tucked his hands into his trouser pockets, unknowingly imitating the very man he'd had just been talking about. He gave Al a firm look. "Rose Tyler is a very special person, Al, and I expect her to be treated as such. For her, the rules about keeping the guest in the dark don't apply. If she wants to know something, you tell her, especially if it has anything to do with Dr. Beckett's leap."

"Jack, that's a pretty tall order. I'm not sure that's such a good idea."

"Believe me, whatever you tell her wouldn't be in anyway dangerous to the timeline," Jack told him bluntly. "She's already seen far more than you can possibly imagine and she's the most trustworthy person I've ever met."

"You do know that this is way outside of protocol. Are you sure?"

Jack gave him a winning smile. "Oh, if you knew her, you wouldn't be asking that question. Suffice to say, she, the Doctor, and I have a history."

Al blew out a breath. "Who is this Doctor you keep talking about? Is he the man Sam's with? I wasn't very impressed. He seemed... strange... arrogant..."

Laughing slightly, Jack responded, "That sounds like him, all right. I can tell you, he deserves to be a little arrogant. There is literally no one else in the universe like him."

"That could be said for a lot of people."

"When I said literally, I meant literally. Do you have an open mind, Al?" he asked, already knowing the answer.

The ex-Admiral was rather taken aback by the question. "Well... yeah. You know I do, Jack."

"And what if I told you that there were billions of planets out there teeming with intelligent life?"

Al had been in space. He'd worked with people that had put forth that premise. "I can believe that. Billions of stars. There's got to be life out there somewhere."

"What if I told you that the Earth was being visited by aliens constantly and no one even knew? I mean, other than the Cybermen, the Daleks, and the ship that was over London that Christmas."

Al's forehead crinkled. He remembered the leap with Max Stoddard. He supposed it was possible but was surprised that he wouldn't have known about the fact of the existence of aliens. Still, he'd been out of the loop and he knew full well that there were secrets his own government kept. "It's a bit of a stretch, but okay. I guess that's possible too."

"A bit of a stretch? After all that's happened?" He chuckled slightly at his friend's stubborn stance, firm in believing what he could see and touch... as long as it wasn't supernatural, that is. "It's not just a possibility, Al. It's a reality. And guess what? You saw an alien."

"Who? Rose?"

Jack laughed again. "Rose is a shop girl from the Powell Estates in London, England."

"Then who?"

"The Doctor."

"Sam's with an alien?" Al's worry level went up. "Is he safe?"

"Yes, he's safe. Well... relatively safe. The Doctor won't hurt him."

"Still, we need to find them. Do you know where they are?"

"According to you, they went to Rextar Seven. Very safe place. Best tea in the universe. Dr. Beckett will love it."

"And Rextar Seven is... where?"

"About 400,000 light years from Earth," Jack told him, watching for his reaction.

"Yeah, right. Stop kidding, Jack."

Jack lowered his eyelids slightly, his gaze set on Al. "Do I look like I'm kidding?"

"No, but... How could they go for tea 400,000 light years from here? You've got to be kidding me."

"Seriously, Al. Seventh planet in the Rextar planetary system. Nice stable trinary star system in..." He looked around the room, orienting himself with the constant knowledge of spacial location that he'd carried with him since he was a Time Agent. "...that direction." He pointed towards the upper southeast corner of Al's office. "Very nice this time of year too."

Al gazed at him, gauging what he was saying. "You're not kidding, are you."

"Been there several times myself," he informed him. "Purple grass, yellow hills, orange sky. And the best chai tea I've ever had."

Al closed his eyes with realization. "So, Sam has really left the planet?"

"Yeah. Just like Elvis." Seeing Al give him a narrow eyed look, Jack waved it off. "Oh, I'm sure the Doctor will come back to Earth in a few hours. He's very attached to this rock."

"That's good." The visibly older man paused. "Why do I get the feeling I'm not in Kansas anymore?"

"Maybe because you're in New Mexico," Jack quipped.


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

_Rextar Seven, somewhen in time_

Sam opened his eyes, sure that what he seemed to recall must have been the product of a strange dream. Nothing in his experience would account for the bizarre situation of his most recent memory. His stomach took a turn though as he confirmed the grass was still purple and the man with him was still the dark, tall, lithe man who he'd last seen before losing consciousness. "You're the Doctor, right?" he said with a bit of hesitation.

"_Karda mamis'it kardatare maha ma vashirez lu!_" the Doctor exclaimed. "You're worse than Adam! 21st century Earth's greatest mind and you pass out on your first trip to another world?" He frowned slightly. "On the other hand, he passed out on his first trip into his own planet's future so maybe you aren't quite as bad as him. Then again, he didn't suddenly have a case of amnesia. You're probably still having memory problems thanks to the unstable time matrix surrounding your project." He finally stopped ranting and looked at the rather confused man sympathetically. "Are you all right?" he questioned, concern tinting his voice.

"Yeah. I think so." He paused, realizing what the other man had said. "You took the first man out of the Garden of Eden? Oh, come on. You can't expect me to beleive that!"

"'First man out of the Gar...'" the alien started to repeat before groaning slightly at the obvious miscommunication. "Adam Mitchell, not the Biblical Adam! Blimey! For being a genius, you seem to jump to enormous conclusions based on little facts."

"Well, how am I to know what the hell you're talking about?" He looked around again at the strangely colored landscape, at least to him. In addition to the grass and sky, there were brightly colored flowers everywhere planted around bright orange trees. "After all, you've just brought me to a place that closely resembles Lennon's lyrics."

The Doctor grimaced slightly. "Yeah, I'm afraid that was a bit my fault," he explained, offering his hand to help Sam to his feet. "Met the boys in London one day and we got on famously. So, I took them to tea and… well, I'm afraid John thought that he'd been having a negative reaction to lysergic acid diethylamide. Or was it written about Julian's classmate? I never could tell the difference. Mind you, it does make for some very nice song writing."

Taking the hand offered to him, he got up. "Yeah, it was a rather cool piece and not only for the vivid imagery. The key structure and meters change rhythmically alternating between 3/4 and 4/4 time," he said matter of fact. Looking around again, a half grin graced his face. "However, seeing that he was being literal when he wrote the lyrics is a shock."

"Right," the Doctor drawled. "Tea!" he exclaimed after a moment. "We're a few blocks from the shop, not far. Lovely little place. Just don't make bad puns concerning the waitresses' uniforms. I think they've heard the phrase 'Off with his head' one too many times." Taking point, he led Sam into the streets of the alien township, giving nods to the various life forms they passed. Turning back towards Sam, he paused a moment. "Don't stare. Think about how we look to them, all brown, pink, and yellow and wearing very odd clothing."

Sam took a deep breath. "I was trying not to. I wouldn't want to make anyone uncomfortable. It's just... well... if this is real and not some in between leap hallucination, I want to attempt to remember what I'm seeing because this is actual proof we're not alone in the universe. That's pretty deep."

"Oh, humans have had proof for centuries. You just ignore it," the Doctor informed him. "Ah! Here we are!" Guiding Sam into the teashop, he selected a table and plopped down, waiting for service.

Sam looked at the small but cozy shop built into a rather organic shape. Keeping with the rest of the bright pallet, he noticed the bright pink walls and green chairs. The tables themselves seemed almost like flat-topped mushrooms. The atmosphere was something that could - and probably did - come straight out of a Lewis Carroll novel. "You say they have good tea? I guess it won't be like what we drink on Earth."

"Nonsense. This place has the best orange spice tea in the universe."

"They have orange spice tea?"

"Orange spice is quite a favorite, in fact, especially with Earth visitors."

"I wouldn't imagine there'd be that many humans coming here. How far are we from Earth?"

"Only 400,000 light years. Not very far if you have a decent timeship," the Doctor replied. He pointed to a human couple passing their table. "See? Told you. This place is very popular with humans. All that 'Alice in Wonderland' feel to it."

"400,000 light years?" Sam's eyes took a faraway look as if considering the concept. "...and a decent timeship?" He finally looked at the man that he realized was a time traveler like him, his eyes searching for clues in his face. "So how far in the future are you from?"

The Doctor winced slightly at the question. "Well, that's really a matter of perspective, isn't it? I mean, how does one planet measure time compared to another?"

"On a purely cultural standpoint, I understand. Even on Earth, different cultures deal with time in different ways. Still, atoms decay at a constant rate and there are stellar 'clocks' that are not subjective to concepts of time but rather independently mark time. I know your technology isn't even close to what we imagine is possible, so..." he trailed off hoping to get some handle on this new reality.

The Doctor smiled slightly at Sam's response. Brilliant stupid humans, he'd called them. And here was the most brilliant of them all. Before he could formulate an answer, a human-sized playing card appeared to his left.

"Ah! Brilliant! Orange spice for my friend here. And I'll have Tangelonian applegrass. Thanks much." He returned his attention to his companion. "As for your assessment..." He tilted his head from side to side. "I would definitely say that I am far more advanced."

Sam looked at the waitstaff. "Rabbits, rocking horses, cards, giants... this place is a mix mash of Earth literature references. Lennon, Carroll, Swift..."

"Well, they all really liked excellent tea," the Doctor commented with a slight grin. Seeing Sam's confusion, he clarified, "Lennon, Carroll, Swift... I brought them each here at one time or another. Brought Verne here too."

Sam blinked for a few moments. "Wow. Puts a lot of things in a new light."

"But that isn't to say that they didn't create a lot of their works from their own imagination. They all had marvelous imaginations," the Doctor added.

Sam decided to address the statement the Doctor made about advancement. "So, a thousand years? A million?" He looked down for a moment. "I've got to admit, I've questioned whether humans would survive that long. The idea that we can travel through the stars like driving across town or move through time so easily..." He looked up again, his eyes shining with excitement. "...is rather exhilarating."

Again, the Doctor winced slightly. "Nnnnn... you can't. Well, not as easily as I do anyway. One day... eventually... you'll be able to manipulate the time vortex but space travel still takes a bit of time. In this era we're in now, it takes a good three months to get to here from Earth."

Sam's eyes flew wide. "Three months to travel 400,000 light years?" He swallowed and grew quiet. He remembered how seeing the cultures of the ancient past, the Egyptian's especially, had fueled his imagination of time travel. Looking back at the things they had done with primitive technology had astounded him. He considered how this man with technology so far advanced would see his world. "People from my time must seem like barbarians to you."

The Doctor's eyes widened. "Why would you think that?"

Sam shrugged. "The differences in technologies. The rather parochial view we have of our universe. Our ignorance of so many things that you must take as common knowledge." He once again gave the small, somewhat goofy half grin. "I'm not saying we're not smart in our own ways. We just don't have the perspective you do."

"Well, you're still children in the universe," the Doctor admitted. "But I can't think of another species as brilliant as you lot. I mean, look at you! In four thousand years, you've made more progress than any other civilization in the galaxy! You're indomitable!"

Sam considered what the Doctor was saying. "Well, if you count from when written history began, I guess we can claim credit for at least six thousand years and the prehistoric period had some pretty interesting stories to tell as well." He then realized the way the Doctor had said his words and smiled. "You sound like you don't count yourself with us. Has the human species diverged that much?"

"Not really. Not physically, anyway. Well, there is that short time you actually develop into digital lifeforms but you eventually return to the basic human form. You pretty much look the same, have the same organs - even the ones you don't really need."

"Digital..." He didn't want to go there, the concept itself a little difficult to grasp. He shook his head to get the idea out, before allowing the space between his eyes to scrunch. "You, not we?"

The Doctor leaned back in his chair as the tea was brought to the table along with biscuits and sandwiches. "It's the correct pronoun."

Sam licked his lips quickly. "So you're saying you're not human? You're not from Earth?"

"I'm not from Earth," the Doctor confirmed. He picked up his tea and took a drink. "Oh, beautiful! Absolutely perfect!" he exclaimed, snatching a sandwich and popping it in his mouth.

This changed things significantly. No longer would the man called the Doctor need to be from the future. He could be from anytime, anyplace. With this ship of his, he could go where and when he wanted. Sam wondered if the reason he had leaped into Rose Tyler was related to that. People like this man could overrun the Earth. He nervously swallowed. "Are your people planning to take over Earth?"

The Doctor's expression of joy dropped at his words, a hidden pain flitting through his eyes. "No. I can honestly say that was never even a possibility."

At the sudden change in countenance, Sam's gut knew somehow that the man was telling the truth and his heart responded. He reached to cover the Doctor's hand. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to bring you pain."

For a moment, the Doctor didn't say anything, just looking at Sam's hand before deciding that this whole conversation was getting too close to becoming a session with a psychiatrist, something he'd never endured and never would. He looked up at Sam with a slight frown, hiding away his emotions. "Do you always touch strange men's hands?"

Sam looked down at his hand and where it was. His face slightly reddened. He'd consciously meant to touch the man's shoulder, but here he'd made a more intimate movement. "Um... when I displace the leapee, sometimes bits of their personality remain. I'm pretty sure this is a result your friend's feelings."

The Doctor didn't reply, just looking at Sam with mixed feelings. What did he mean, exactly, that parts of Rose's personality remained? Yes, the touch was far too similar to Rose's and that, perhaps, was what bothered him the most. His best friend was somewhere somewhen and this scientist had taken her place. He'd taken Sam to Rextar Seven as a pleasant way for him to interrogate him. But even after all this time of quietly getting information from him, the question of Rose's safety still hadn't been answered. After all, he couldn't trust a direct answer if he just asked it. A good liar could fool even a Time Lord. No, he wanted to get a sense of this man in front of him... and he wasn't getting much other than he was very smart and very... well... human. It seemed that there would be only one thing to satisfy the Doctor's concerns and that would be the direct approach, Time Lord style.

"Is she safe?" the Doctor asked, looking into Sam's eyes. He didn't want to invade Dr. Beckett's privacy but he needed to know the truth behind the words.

Sam nodded solemnly. "Yes. When we developed the project, I knew I'd be displacing people so that I could observe time as it happened. We wanted to have the least amount of impact on our leapees as possible. They are kept safe, have access to an excellent physician and other medical personnel, and are taken care of until I leap out and they leap back in." He looked distressed. "That was the plan. I was just to observe and then go home. That didn't work and something, we're not sure what, but Al and I like to called it God, Fate, Time, or Whatever, took over my experiment and now I don't just observe. I fix things that went wrong in the original history." He paused and went on. "But our leapees are still taken care of. Of that I give my word."

The Doctor turned his head away, immediately feeling almost dirty for even the surface scan he had made of Sam's thoughts. He rubbed his forehead and then his mouth and chin before swallowing. "I believe you. I saw..." His voice dropped off guiltily. "I'm sorry," he murmured.

Sam looked at him confused. "Nothing to be sorry for, I don't think."

"Yes... there is," the alien sighed, looking into Sam's eyes. "I've done something... extremely unscrupulous." Still seeing and understanding the confusion on Sam's face, he clarified, "I made an unauthorized surface scan of your thoughts. I needed to be sure."

Sam considered the Doctor's words. "You read minds, huh. That's novel. At least to me." He pursed his lips in thought and then quietly half stated, half questioned, "This friend means a great deal to you, huh?"

"Of course, she does. Don't your friends mean a great deal to you?"

"Yeah. That's my point. I imagine if I were in your shoes under similar circumstances and had the ability to do that, I might do the same."

"Even if it's against all your principles?" the Doctor questioned slightly. "I don't make a habit of invading another's privacy by reading their minds."

Sam took a sip of the tea and looked away for a moment before looking back. A vision of Maggie, her hair laid back on the pillow invaded his mind, quickly replaced by the last vision he had of her dying. "I've gone against my principles on occasion when I thought I had no other choice although I don't make a habit of it either."

The Doctor exhaled slightly, remembering the horrible Time War and his own actions that brought the end of it. "Yes. I think that everyone does, at some time or another."

A quiet had descended over the table.

The Doctor sipped at his tea for a moment before taking a breath. "So... having your personal thoughts being picked up by an alien doesn't bother you."

The space between Sam's eyes creased again. "I'm not sure that's it exactly. I mean, yeah, it's strange but then again, since leaping I've experienced some very strange things. I guess I just figure your reason is acceptable."

"Hmm..." the Doctor started, a considering look on his face. "You're probably one of the most open-minded people I have ever met. There are others, though, Rose included."

Sam shrugged. "Well, you have to be open to new ideas for breakthrough changes."

The Doctor slightly smiled at his words. "Quite right! Can't change the world with a closed mind, can you? And you are so changing your world! Your work will lay down foundations for centuries to come."

Sam smiled ruefully. "And since GFTW took over, it's really changed things."

"GFTW? What's that?" the Doctor questioned with a slight frown. His eyes brightened slightly as he quickly figured out what it meant. "Right. God, Fate, Time, Whatever." He wrinkled his nose a bit. "Only thing I believe in is time. But then again, time is my business."

"Your business? How?"

"I'm a Time Lord."

"What's a Time Lord?"

"I am." The tone indicated that the answer should have been obvious.

"Yeah, but what does that mean?" He wondered if this Doctor was anything like the bartender he'd met on that strange birthday.

The Doctor's face became very somber. It was plainly obvious that what he was about to say was a great responsibility, one that he took very seriously. "I watch over time and space. I protect it and insure justice is secure throughout the universe."

Sam swallowed. "Your people were the ones to... um... grab me... weren't you?"

The Doctor blinked, clearly confused by the question. "I'm sorry? What do you mean 'grab?'"

"Well, like I said, my experiment was only to observe but something grabbed me and has been leaping me ever since. That which we refer to as GFTW. That wouldn't be your people, would it?"

The Doctor let out a loud belt of a laugh, nearly doubling over in his chair. "You think that... my people...?" Another laugh escaped his lips. "Impossible! The Time Lords never interfered in the affairs of other races, only watched. So... no. They never caused your traveling in time to go... um... what did you call it? Oh yeah, ca-ca."

Sam was stunned at the Doctor's sudden change. Frowning he responded. "You think this is funny? It's not."

The Time Lord looked chastised. "No. You're right. It isn't." He couldn't prevent the grin he'd had from returning. "Well, maybe a little, especially if you knew the Time Lords." At his own words, his face became somber, almost haunted, but Sam didn't seem to notice.

"Well, it's not that strange of an idea. I met one... man... who obviously knew more about things like this than I ever will... who told me it's me leaping me. That doesn't make sense though. I don't even know where I'm going or whom I'll be displacing. How could I be doing it? Besides, once we discover what went wrong the first time through, I change that and then I leap again. I really have no control over this."

"Well... there must be a way to stop it," the Doctor supposed. "I'm sure we can figure it out."

Sam looked hopeful. "You think that's possible?"

"Everything is possible," the Doctor told him bluntly. "Well, almost everything. There are always some things that you cannot change, even if you want to."

"Yeah, I've learned that too." The words were said with great sadness.

The Time Lord regarded the human with sympathy. From the way Sam had spoken, it was obvious that he'd encountered his own temporal challenges, challenges that tested the soul. It was something he well understood. He took a deep breath and then finished his tea. "Well, now... shall we go?" Standing, he started digging through his pockets in search of money to pay for the respite, pulling out various items as he did so, including a yo-yo and a musical recorder.

"Um, yeah. Sure." Sam watched the strange collection of items come out of the man's pockets. He didn't say anything but his countenance showed he found it interesting.

After pulling out at least twice the amount of things his pockets could carry by all normal rights, the Doctor sighed with frustration. "I can't seem to find that credit bar anywhere," he murmured before digging into yet another pocket, this time on the inside of his coat. "Ah-ha! There it is!" He stared at the mess of things on the table and, handing the credit bar to Sam, before putting the items back into his pockets. "Really should clean out my suit someday. For some reason, I tend to just throw things I find in there." Once all were properly put away, he retrieved the credit bar. "Ready?" he asked. Without waiting for an answer, he told him, "Come on, then," and started for the door, swiping his credit bar over a black plate glass scanner before leaving the shop.

Sam followed along, thinking this had to be the strangest cup of tea he'd ever shared with anyone.

**Translation:** _Karda mamis'it kardatare maha ma vashirez lu! - _I swear on my beloved mother's heart!


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

Guiding Sam through the streets of Rextar Seven, the Doctor asked, "So, where shall we go? I'd rather check up on Rose myself, if you don't mind. But I can't do that if I don't know where and when you come from."

"I wish I could help you. I simply don't know."

The Time Lord sighed. "Typical. Well, I suppose we'll just have to guess at that. We can't stay in the 43rd century forever, after all. Your annoying little friend will never find us that way. So..." He jogged the brief stretch left between him and the TARDIS, pulling out his key. "2007? North America? I'm rather fond of New York City."

"Al will be..." Sam trailed off as he considered the ramifications of where he was for the first time from his project's perspective. He could travel in his own lifetime but he'd never actually slipped into the future. He hoped this didn't mean he'd still be alive in the 43rd century. "Oh, boy," he whispered quietly.

Opening the door, the Doctor walked in, expecting Sam to follow him. After a moment, when he realized he was alone in the TARDIS, he stuck his head out and looked at Sam with concern. "Are you all right?"

Sam gave a weak smile. "We're in the 43rd Century," he said, his voice cracking just a bit.

"So?" the Doctor questioned.

Sam swallowed. "In my project, I can only travel within my lifetime." He paused. "Well, I guess Al's lifetime since we mixed mesons." He paused once more. "Unless there's a strong DNA connection." He considered that. "Is Rose Tyler related to any Becketts?"

The Doctor finished stepping out of the TARDIS, leaving the door open behind him. "No, I don't think so. And DNA or a person's lifetime doesn't make a difference with the TARDIS."

"How does this TARDIS work?"

The Doctor, seeing that Sam wasn't coming, grabbed his arm and guided him in forcibly. "Disappears there, reappears here, dimensionally transcendental... and you don't need to know the rest. Mankind isn't ready for this kind of technology. If I tell you and you decide to try to duplicate it, it could cause a serious paradox. I'm a Time Lord. I can't allow that to happen. Just accept that it works."

Sam understood from the Doctor's tone that he was annoyed with him. Still he kept on. "But I just want to..."

"It's something you don't need to know," the Doctor repeated, heading to the console.

Sam pursed his lips and narrowed his eyes at him. "Who are you to tell me what I need to know?"

"I'm the Doctor," came the blunt response in the same authoritative tone the Time Lord had used before, showing that he expected the leaper to accept his word as final.

For a moment the leaper's pride fought with the understanding that this wasn't a battle to fight, at least for now. After all, look what happened when he stepped into the Accelerator himself. At least he didn't trap anyone else in time. Somewhat dejectedly, for the whole idea really did fascinate him, he shrugged. "Fine."

"Now," the Doctor exclaimed with a smile, changing his mood drastically. "You haven't been formally introduced. This is the TARDIS. Stands for Time and Relative Dimension in Space. She is a Type 40 TT capsule, the last of her kind."

"She? The TARDIS is a computer?" Sam tilted his head. "My project works because of the computer I built. Ziggy's a she too. At least she is now."

A furrow creased the Gallifreyan's brow. "You have a computer that went through a sex change? And you named it Ziggy?" He started to flick buttons and turn knobs. "I'll have you know that the TARDIS is far more than just some rinkey-dinky 21st century transgender computer. She's a living timeship. She even has a heart... of sorts. Compared to the TARDIS, your computer is an antiquated plastic calculator."

"Well... Al was the one that named her back when she was a he. I called him Alpha and somehow... not really sure what happened since I wasn't there... Ziggy's personality just sort of changed. That's when she became she." Sam continued to defend his creation. "And Ziggy is much more than just a computer. She's integrated with my brain cells and Al's nerve cells. She has a living biological component as well. Al thought giving her a personality was a mistake but it makes her... well... her."

The Doctor smiled at that. "Really? Well, then, it's not so antiquated after all. But it's still not a TARDIS."

"I never said she was."

"Good," the Doctor replied in an almost sing-song like tone. "And, by the way... your friend Al? If he's naming computers Ziggy and then changing said computer's gender preferences... he either is in need of some serious help or is in good company with an old friend of mine."

"Al may be... well... he does have a serious appreciation of women. But he's not a pervert or anything and he didn't change Ziggy's gender. She just morphed."

"How do you know? You weren't there, remember?" the Time Lord pointed out with a grin. Before Sam could reply, he continued on quickly. "Anyway... anything else you wanted to know? Well... within reason."

Sam had a distinct feeling of deja vu, recalling an earlier time when his questions weren't being answered by the one person who had all the relevant facts. "There's a lot of things I'd like to ask but the answer would be 'I don't need to know.' Right?" He looked around, frustrated. "Isn't there any place where I can sit? Other than the floor?"

"You always sit by me," the alien stated with a frown.

"Excuse me?"

Looking on the leaper, the Gallifreyan exhaled with the realization of his error. For a split moment, he had only seen his companion rather than the man that now inhabited her life. The idea of sitting next to Sam Beckett... well, it just wouldn't do, regardless if the man was pleasant to be around. He pointed to the door behind him. "Through that door, two lefts, a right, a left, down two flights of stairs, two rights, third door on your left."

"Right," Sam answered with annoyance. "I just wanted a chair, not a tour." He left the room, seeking time away from the infuriating mad man. As he started down the corridor the Doctor had described, he found the directions didn't take him anywhere. He spent time wandering, finding locked doors and strange areas, corridors leading to dead ends while others returned him in a circle to where he'd been before. Finally, Sam, tired and sporting a headache, simply laid down where he was, curled up, and closed his eyes, hoping sleep would come and that he'd wake up finding it had all been a dream. A very strange dream. A very bizarre and strange dream.

The Doctor sat in the console chair, glaring towards the center column as if it were responsible for the frustration that ate at him. Of all the humans to wind up in his life - one he admired, no less - he had to find that Sam Beckett was the most annoyingly inquisitive, stubbornly irritating, overly talkative, hyper empathetic... He growled slightly in aggrevation as he found himself lacking further description of his new unwanted companion. He was simply too upset to think. Here he was stuck with this intruder and his proper companion was who knows when and where. What was truly making him irritated was that he should know exactly where Sam's project was - he remembered reading about it and wondering on how incredible it was for a 20th century human to come up with the concepts - but the details were eluding him.

As the TARDIS landed with a thump, he realized that Sam was only being the person he had read about and that he really couldn't blame him for the current situation, especially if Sam was indeed being guided by a mysterious force. Besides, treating Sam as he had been wasn't going to rectify the situation any faster. Standing, he decided that he should retrieve the wayward Leaper and start the relationship from scratch. He didn't expect to find him lying on the floor, snoring no less, just beyond the interior doors.

He crouched down and gazed at Sam for a moment. _Humans need so much sleep. How do they even get anything done?_ Shaking Sam's shoulder, he waited until seeing the man's green eyes opening. "What are you doing sleeping in the corridor?"

Sam blinked for a moment and then reached up to tug at the crick in his neck. _Nope, not a dream_. "Um… yeah. Well, I followed your directions but never got anywhere. The corridors kept changing. I finally decided to just give up and sleep," he explained, not really sure how sane he sounded.

The Doctor slowly got to his feet, giving the ceiling a hard glare. "That would be the TARDIS. She gets temperamental sometimes."

Sam gave the lanky man a half grin. "Trust me, I can sympathize. I sometimes regret using Barbra's Streisand's personality in Ziggy."

"Barbra Streisand?! What possessed you?!"

"I don't know. I guess after six years with an average of two hours of sleep a night, I just wasn't thinking clearly? Al tried to stop me, but I wouldn't listen."

"It's a wonder you didn't go mad!" The TARDIS' pilot reached down his hand to help the still yawning human stand. "Well, you've sleep more than two hours this time."

Rubbing his back, the human answered, "Really? It was more than two hours? Sure doesn't feel like it."

"That's what you get for sleeping in the corridor."

"Well, it wasn't my first choice. I just felt I was going around in circles."

"You probably were. That tends to happen sometimes in a semi-infinite space controlled by a semi-sentient being."

Sam turned to the sound of the Imaging Chamber door opening.

"Oh, thank God, Sam! I wasn't sure I'd ever see you again!" Al looked at the Doctor and glared at him, his distrust of the man worn openly in his face.

The Doctor looked upon Al for a moment and then brightened suddenly. "Ohhhh… nice frowny face."

Al glared harder at the man. "Sam, I don't think you should trust this nozzle." While both Jack and Rose seemed to be willing to accept what this man had obviously told them, Al himself was going to be cautious. They might both be wrong.

Sam ignored Al's warning instead talking like a kid that had just been given the keys to a candy store.. "Al, I was on another planet! And boy, was that weird! We were in another time with a bona fide extraterrestrial! I've gotta tell you, this is pretty cool!"

The Doctor straightened like a peacock showing his colors, a very pleased look on his face. He started to respond to the quantum physicist's statement when Al interjected, "Sam, you don't know that any of that is true. Just cause he says it is doesn't make it so."

Narrowing his eyes and folding his arms, the Gallifreyan lorded over Al. "You don't believe it?"

Al looked at him with eyes that were trying to ferret out the truth. "I don't know if I do or not. Are you sure you didn't give him something? Or.. or... did something else to convince him of your story? Sorry, but that's not going to work with me," groused the Admiral with a gruff voice.

"Oh, come on, Al," Sam put in. "Don't you think I'd know if I'd been drugged or brainwashed? All I had was orange spice tea and turkey sandwiches."

Al nodded. "Yeah…but what the hell was the spice? Huh?"

The Doctor shrugged. "A little cinnamon, a little nutmeg, perhaps a bit of allspice… and a touch of Matagorian Flarnhentalmin"

Sam asked, "What is Matagorian Fla …Flarn..."

"Flarnhentalmin," supplied the Time Lord.

"Yeah. That."

"That's what I'd like to know 'Doctor', if you really are one," finished Al, still not trusting anything.

"It's a simple flavoring derived from orange like fruit from Matagornia on Rextar Seven. Completely harmless."

"Then why is he acting this way?" Al queried.

"Because it's really, really cool!" squealed Sam. "Think of it, Al. This is so much more than what happened with Max… um… Max… damn, I can't remember his name."

"Max Headroom, perhaps?" supplied the Doctor.

"If you're a real alien, then how do you know about an icon like Max Headroom?" Al asked with conviction.

"The whole universe knows about Max Headroom. It's one of the most enduring television shows of your time. It had the longest syndication run of any show. It's still being shown in the year 200,000!"

"Wow… I wish I hadn't missed it," groused Sam.

The Doctor turned his head toward Sam. "Don't worry. I have it on DVD."

Al threw up his hands. "DVD? That proves you're not an alien. Don't listen to this nozzle, Sam!"

"Why do you keep referring to me as a piece of 21st century Earth plumbing? I'm not spitting, am I?"

If Al could have hit him, he would have. "Nozzle, jerk, joker, buffoon, bozo, clown, conman… you choose the name, buddy."

The Doctor took a step closer to the hologram and, with an edge to his voice, answered, "Number one, I'm NOT a conman. Two, you're the one with the rather colorful clothing. But I love your color coordination. Haven't dressed like that since my sixth incarnation and your coat's so much nicer."

Sam stepped up to them. "Hey, come on you two." He turned to Al. "I'm not nuts and I'm not drugged. I've already considered that and I'm sure that's not it. What I've experienced just is. You would have loved it, Al. Lennon's lyrics came to life!"

The Doctor shook his head. "Not quite, Sam. More like life came to Lennon's lyrics."

Sam splayed his hands. "Whatever."

"I still don't trust him, Sam. Whatever happened when we lost you, Ziggy couldn't track you. We were worried. Ziggy almost had a meltdown."

The leaper answered, "Well, we're back now. No harm, no foul."

"That's still yet to be seen," Al continued. "I'm not sure that this guy isn't some kind of a Svengali. I've seen his effect on the girl you've displaced."

The Time Lord pushed Sam aside and stepped toe to toe with the Admiral once again. "I would never hurt Rose Tyler."

The Admiral, not backing down an iota, responded, "You wouldn't hurt her? Then what's a thirty-something year old man doing with a nineteen year old girl? Hmmmm?"

"Rose Tyler means more to me than you or anyone else could ever know. If you hurt even one hair on her head, I will find you. That's a promise," he finished ominously.

Al didn't miss a beat. "The same could be said about Sam from my point of view." The meaning behind his words were clear in his eyes. "As to Rose Tyler, she's about the age of my youngest daughter. What you're telling me better be the truth."

The Doctor understood at that moment that he and the little man in front of him shared a paternal instinct to protect the innocent. He knew without question that Rose would be safe with this man who showed such strong convictions of friendship and compassion. His estimation of Sam went up as well, knowing that his choice of friends reflected his character. Taking a breath, he took a single step away from the Admiral, knowing that being in a close proximity to him would only cause the tension to continue. "I swear on the memory of my people that I have told you nothing but the truth."

Al gave the man another deep look. Seeing the conviction in his eyes, he nodded. "Okay. I believe you about Rose Tyler." He glanced over at Sam, the physicist showing relief that the tension had ceased. "But what about my friend?"

The Doctor took a deep breath and exhaled. "I will protect him with all my lives," he assured. Giving him a firm look, he continued, "And I need the same assurances from you that Rose will be safe."

Al narrowed his eyes once more, trying to ascertain the truth in the man's words. He wasn't sure what was meant about the lives, but his gut figured that this Doctor wouldn't make the statement if he didn't mean it. He gave a short nod and then answered, "I swear before God, I won't let anything happen to her under my watch. You have my solemn oath."

The Time Lord's mood lightened instantly. "Right, good enough for me. Come along," he instructed the men, walking back to the console room. "Let's see where we've landed, eh?"


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6**

The Doctor led Sam and Al into the console and approached the central column with a grin as he read what was on his screen. "Oh, marvelous! New York City, October 30th, 1997. Just in time for Halloween! Bit cold outside, though. May want to get a coat from the wardrobe."

"What wardrobe?"

The Doctor scratched his head. "Right... well, then.. First left, second right, third on the left, straight ahead..."

"Again?" Sam complained.

"It's not the same instructions," the Doctor pointed out.

"They're still rather convoluted though." He sighed. "Okay...first left, second right, third on the left, straight ahead and?"

"Past the stairs, under the bins, fifth door on your left." The Gallifreyan gave the central column a bit of a glare. "And don't go moving the corridors on him this time. You've had your fun twice already so leave him alone."

Sam headed into the corridor with a little trepidation regardless of what the Doctor had said. He didn't relish the idea of getting lost again. However, he arrived at the wardrobe moments later. Walking in, he stopped and stared.

As he was looking, Al popped into the room. "Wow!" he breathed, seeing not only the size of the room but also the multitude of clothes inside. "He'd never have enough time to wear all this stuff."

Sam turned to Al. "I think he has you beat."

Al gave him a slight glare. "Oh, ha-ha. This place is a little weird, I'll tell you that."

"Well, he says the space is semi-infinite. That would do it for sure," Sam reasoned, walking over to the rack of clothes and looking for a coat.

Al raised an eyebrow. "Semi-infinite? Come on, Sam. You really believe this yo-yo?" Seeing the surprised look on Sam's face, he clarified, "Hey, I may feel a little better about his intentions concerning Rose but he's still loonier than Daffy Duck."

"I don't know, Al. With all I've seen since I got here, I think he's the real deal." He found a leather jacket that looked his aura's size. He pulled it out. "What do you think? Black leather always looks nice."

"Sure, it's a nice jacket," Al commented before returning to the question at hand. "Let's suppose you're right and you did go to another planet. That, at least you could see with your eyes, touch with your hands. Empirical evidence, right? What proof do you have that you were in another time and that that man back there really is an alien?"

"I don't have empirical evidence for any of it...yet. However, assuming that I did travel to Rextar Seven... which I can definitely say wasn't Earth... then by definition I would be in another time. As to him being an alien? I don't know. I just feel I can trust him."

"I still say he's got a few screws loose," Al contradicted. "Like what he did in that room back there. He was talking to a... a... well, I don't know what the hell that thing is in the middle of that room but normal people don't tell inanimate objects not to change hallways around."

Sam gave him a tilted half-grin. "You didn't just spend a half hour wandering in circles when she changed the configuration."

"You probably just got lost. Easy to do with hallways like that. Who builds a building with corridors that are more like a maze?"

"No. The corridors changed. I have an eidetic memory, remember?"

Al had to concede that Sam had a point in that favor. After a split second, however, he realized Sam's choice of words. "What do you mean 'she'?"

"Just what I said. This time ship is a she. I think I ticked her off by comparing her with Ziggy."

"Great," Al muttered. "Now we've got _two _computers with egos."

"The ship is more than Ziggy. To the Doctor, Ziggy is just a slight upgrade to a common computer. This time ship makes our computer look like a kid's toy."

"I seriously doubt it, Sam. He's pulling your leg or spiking your tea or something. Wouldn't surprise me if he'd somehow gotten Miss Tyler on some recreational drugs and you're hallucinating it all."

"Well, only time will tell..." started Sam. He began to walk out, having put on the jacket. He began chuckling. "43rd century. I was in the 43rd Century! Can you imagine, Al? Lennon didn't have to. He saw it all. And Carroll... and Verne... And now Beckett. Geez, I'm in good company!"

"Yeah... Right..." Al started, his voice plainly showing that he was concerned about his friend's mental well being. "And maybe this is a really bad dream and I need to wake up."

"Don't count on it, Al. I gave up on that explanation years ago... or 398,000 years from now... or about a half hour ago, depending on your perspective."

Al sighed slightly, tucking his hands into his trouser pockets. "All I'm saying, Sam, is that you shouldn't trust that guy too much. We still have no clue who or what he really is."

"I guess you're right but I just have a feeling about him. It's like... well, it's like when I first met you. I just knew there was something about you that had nothing to do with the fact you were about to bash in the front of a vending machine. I can't tell you why I felt that then and I can't tell you why I trust this Doctor now."

That startled Al into a moment of silence. He knew Sam wasn't akin to making such judgments about a person on first sight but, when he did, he was usually dead on target. Still, his own instincts were telling him that this guy, even if he might be trustworthy in Sam's eyes, was trouble with a capital T, and that rhymes with D, and that stands for 'Doctor.' "Just... be careful."

"Okay. We better get back or the Doctor will wonder if I've gotten lost again. You know, with all the stuff that's happened, I still don't know why I'm here. You got anything?" Sam asked as they started out of the wardrobe.

Al shook his head. "Not a clue, Sam. Ziggy is still having fits with you bouncing in and out of her ability to track you. Trying to figure out what part of the timeline you're supposed to change isn't even possible at the moment. Ziggy can't figure the probabilities."

"Figures."

A few moments later they arrived back to where they'd left the Doctor, who was slipping on his brown overcoat. Looking over to Sam, he gave him a smile. "Ready? New York, 1997, here we come!" Bouncing out the door, he stopped just a few feet out. Wherever they were, it wasn't New York City and it certainly wasn't 1997.

Sam almost ran into the Doctor. "This isn't New York City." He pointed to a rather tall building in front of them. "That's the Sears Tower."

The Doctor's frown strengthened. "Yes, it is. Well, it's close, isn't it? I mean, it is a major city in the United States of America."

"Yeah, I guess." He looked at one of the women walking by them wearing cropped jeans. "But we're not in 1997 either. I'd guess late 80's and it's likely summer based on what she's wearing."

The Time Lord grimaced slightly. "Yeah... sorry about that."

Al, for his part, didn't seem to be listening to the two scientists' banter as he looked back at the blue police box sitting just in front of the Chicago Museum of Science and Technology. Taking a step back, he looked first on the left side and then on the right before walking through the holographic door to verify what he had seen. Returning to Sam's side, his eyes still on the strange anomaly, he stammered for several seconds. "S... Sam... it's... it's... But... that's impossible!"

"What's impossible, Al?"

The Observer pointed to the blue box behind them. "Th... that! It looks like an English police box from the 1960s but it's... it's..."

"Bigger on the inside," the Doctor and Sam said at the same time.

"It's sort of like a Klein bottle. Semi-infinite space inside a finite one," Sam finished for him in a matter of fact voice.

"Yeah, but... Sam, Klein bottles aren't bigger on the inside. They just have a continuous surface. That thing..." Al pointed to the TARDIS again. "That thing..."

"I said, sort of, Al. You have to extrapolate the concept."

The Doctor sniffed at their conversation. "Actually, it's dimensional transcendentalism."

Sam's eyes widened, excited by the Doctor's words. "Of course! When we step into the TARDIS, we're actually stepping into a different dimension confined by the boundaries of the external dimension."

The Doctor grinned broadly at his words. "Told you. You are brilliant."

Al just shook his head slightly, deciding that it probably would be safer on his sanity not to think about the odd blue box too much. He could already feel the headache starting behind his eyes from trying to understand it clearly. He hadn't liked abstract theories in the first place and now there was an abstract fact right in front of him. "Fine... you two get it. That's good enough for me. I'm going back to the project. With this moving around in time, I'm not sure how we'll figure out what you need to do, but I can try."

"Yeah. That's a good idea. See you later," Sam agreed.

With that, Al ran his fingers along the handlink and exited the Imaging Chamber.

"Do?" the Doctor questioned with a frown. "What exactly is it that you think you need to do?"

"Don't know yet but it's always something," the leaper explained. "Like I told you, GFTW moves me around and I sort of... well... fix things. I'm sure they'll figure it out eventually... then I'll do it, and you'll get Rose back."

"What do you mean fix things?"

"It's what I do now. It wasn't exactly by choice, you know. After that first leap, it's just what happened. I saved a pilot's life and was there to save his baby as well. Once that happened... I leapt again and had to make a very weird home run. They always seem to be huge changes at the micro level but nothing that would change the world or anything."

"How do you know what you change doesn't affect the world? You alter Earth's history without full knowledge of the effects it would have on space-time," the Doctor exclaimed with indignation. "Do you have any idea how dangerous that is?"

Sam sighed. "Listen, I didn't make this up. Like I said, I was only going to observe. Since then I've just been trying to get home. You don't know what that's like, okay?"

The alien exhaled, his mind running quickly over the latest bit of information he'd learned concerning Sam Beckett. While he completely disapproved of Sam's altering history without a completely clear understanding of the consequences of his actions, he also could understand the desperation the scientist was going through in his quest to return to his own time and his own reality. Taking a breath, he looked around, getting a perspective of where he was. "Lovely view of the city from here, even if it is at street level. We'd get a better look from the top of Sear's Tower, though."

Figuring the man accepted his statement about fixing thing, the leaper changed to the new subject seamlessly. He, too, regarded their surroundings as they started towards the main road that ran in front of the museum. "The view is lovely. I was up in the Sear's Tower before and it's great. I love Chicago." His smile grew larger. "And being that it is Chicago, I bet we can find a hot dog vendor too. I haven't had a Chicago Dog in years."

"A hot dog?!" the Doctor exclaimed. "You just traveled to Chicago in the 1980s and you want a hot dog?"

"Yeah. They're good," he said with the excitement of a kid at a carnival.

The Gallifreyan gave a shrug. "All right. Suit yourself. You have the correct currency on you?"

Sam shook his head. "I don't have any currency on me. When I leap in, I just have whatever the aura has and I doubt your friend walks around with American currency."

The Doctor gave a slight smile. "That's what I thought. Most of the time, I don't have anything either. Usually don't have to worry about things like money. However, as luck would have it, I recently took Rose to a Gwen Stefani concert and I still have some change from purchasing the tickets. At least, I think I do." Reaching into his trouser pockets, he rummaged around before coming up with a handful of dollar bills. "There you go. Should do to buy a hot dog."

Sam took the money. "Yeah... and a diet coke too. You want anything?" he asked as he moved towards a colorful cart stationed across the street with a red and yellow striped umbrella over it.

"No, thank you," the Doctor responded. He followed Sam over to the vendor and then watched as Sam ordered a Chicago dog and received the strangest concoction he had ever seen on the face of the Earth. "I'm not going to ask what is in that thing."

Sam paid the vendor and took his drink and the hot dog, which was covered with mustard, lots of onions, a dill pickle spear, pickled sport peppers, a dash of celery salt and, Sam was happy to see, cucumber slices. There was even the Nuclear Relish, a neon green pickle condiment that looked like it might glow in the dark. He looked at it as if it were a work of art. "Don't knock it 'til you try it," Sam said before taking a bite of the hot dog. "Mom!"

The Time Lord furrowed his eyebrows. "It looks like a biology class on Daleks gone wrong."

Sam looked up and spoke around his bite. "You mentioned Daleks before. I don't really remember exactly but it was around that time when I leapt in."

"And you leapt in just as the Cybermen and the Daleks were being sucked into the Void, yes?"

"Oh, you mean those funny cone-like things that sort of looked like pepper shakers? They didn't look anything like a hot dog. Maybe the cart you serve them from..."

"That was just the casing, it wasn't a Dalek." The Doctor looked more closely at the hot dog. "Are you sure this thing isn't radioactive?"

"Definitely. Just tastes marvelous." He took another bite and dabbed at his face with the napkin. "God, these things are good."

"I'll take your word for it," the Gallifreyan muttered before turning to look at him. The sheer joy on Rose Tyler's features was almost angelic, causing him to stare for a long moment. He didn't know how he hadn't seen that particular expression on Rose's face before, especially since he'd provided far more appetizing food than what Sam was currently consuming. For a moment, his thoughts strayed towards wondering if he could get Rose to repeat that look under different and far more intimate circumstances.

Sam looked up again when the Doctor stopped talking. "What?"

The Time Lord's mind gratefully shifted before his thoughts could imitate those Jack might have. He blinked at the expression on Sam's face. "Umm... nothing," he murmured, rubbing the back of his neck. He felt his face flushing slightly with embarrassment. "Nothing at all." He turned to look elsewhere... anywhere but Sam's face... not wanting to be tempted towards those thoughts again. "Just enjoy your hot dog. I'll be back in a moment."

"Okay," Sam said. He stated somewhat guiltily, "I might even get a second one. I don't know when I'm going to get one of these again. I really want to savor the experience, you know?"

"Suit yourself," came the response as the Gallifreyan walked away.

Sam finished his hotdog before going back to the vendor and ordering another one. He was almost finished with it when the Doctor came back. "Almost finished," Sam said agreeably. Within a few minutes, he'd finished the hot dog and was wiping his fingers off. "That was wonderful. Thanks for giving me the opportunity. You really should get one before we leave Chicago."

"Well, we have to come back this way to get to the TARDIS. Perhaps then. Now..." He looked around. "Where's a taxi?"

"I thought you didn't have any money? How can we afford a taxi?"

"I procured the monetary means," the Doctor told him genially.

"Really? How?"

"I made a withdrawal from an ATM. So, we have the means, now we need the room." He started down the street in search of the wayward means of transportation.

"Why don't we just stay in the TARDIS?" the leaper asked, doing his best to keep up. "It's big enough."

"Too promiscuous. Don't want to draw attention to ourselves." The Doctor seemed completely unaffected by his rapid pace. "Besides, I know just the place. I'm friends with the owners. They'll let us stay with them gratis."

"You sure they'll be okay with us dropping in?"

"Of course, they will!" he stated plainly. He turned to him with slight annoyance, never missing a step. "Do you always worry like this?"

Sam shrugged. "Well, I just don't want to be rude and usually, when I leap, I just live with whatever accommodations my host has."

"Well, that's a little difficult at the moment since we aren't in the Powell Estates in 2008," the Doctor stated plainly.

Sam didn't say anything. He figured that this alien probably had dealt with this type of time travel for a while and this was obviously what worked for him. He saw an empty cab coming down the street and put his hand up. When the driver stopped, the two got in. "Where to?" Sam asked the Gallifreyan.

"Hyde Park," the Doctor instructed, before providing the rest of the address.


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7**

Al walked out of Chicago and back into the Control Room. Walking up to Gooshie he asked, "I know you've been monitoring. What do you think of this yo-yo Sam's hooked up with?" The Captain and Rose Tyler had made it clear they trusted this person but, until he was sure himself, he decided to go with his gut. Right now, his gut was telling him there was something very hinky about the blue box bozo.

"Hard to say, Admiral," Gooshie replied with a hint of hesitation. "He obviously can travel in time. I mean... Doctor Beckett was definitely in London 2007 before and now he's in Chicago 1987... and the guest in the Waiting Room is still the same young lady..."

Al closed his eyes. "This is a weird leap, no doubt about it." He gave the handlink to Gooshie. "I'm going back to my office. Let me know if Sam needs me."

"Will do, Admiral," the programmer replied with a nod before returning to his work at the control console.

Walking into his office, he was somewhat relieved to see Jack still draped in his chair. "You obviously know the leapee and the person Sam is with. I need to know more about this joker."

Jack turned his head upon hearing the door open and looked at Al with a smirk. The smirk widened into a grin which quickly morphed into a chuckle and then into a fully fledged laugh.

"What the hell are you laughing at? This is serious. Sam's apparently with someone that can truly travel in time too, but in a different manner."

"You... and the Doctor," he continued to laugh. "The way you went at each other... god, it made me want to hop into the Imaging Chamber and be there in person to see it." He took a deep breath and exhaled slowly. "Oh, that was brilliant!"

"What are you talking about?"

"I swear I have never... _never _... heard anyone stand up to the Doctor like you just did... with the exception of me, of course. Funniest damn thing I've heard in a long time."

Jack had obviously tapped into Ziggy's monitoring of the observation chamber. While he had the right to do it, he'd never seemed interested in doing so before. Al would need to get to the bottom of that but right now there were bigger issues. He tossed off Jack's surprise at the way he'd handled himself with the young time traveler. "I've dealt with bigger nozzles than him in my time. Seems like a snot nose kid to me."

Jack gave him 'the look' at his choice of words. "Oh, he can be stubborn, all right," he agreed. "But he's usually right, so he is in no way 'a piece of 21st century Earth plumbing.' And calling him a snot-nosed kid isn't very descriptive of him at all. Snot-nosed senior, maybe. If seniors lived as long as that. But...you gotta love his sense of humor, right?"

"No, you don't. At least I don't." His forehead creased. "Snot nosed senior? What is he? Some kind of Dorian Gray or something?"

"Oh, come on," Jack berated. "Lighten up, Al. I sometimes think you don't have a funny bone in your body." He looked him up and down appraisingly. "But I am willing to find out."

Al gave him a glare at the obvious teasing appraisement the man was giving. "It's staying in your dreams, Jack," he gave his usual response to such attentions. "And I'm not lightening up until I know what's going on with Sam."

Jack sighed slightly. "I suppose if I were in your position..." He gave him a reassuring smile. "Sam'll be fine."

"And just _how_ do you know that? You keep saying it but you're not giving me anything about this guy. I'm simply not willing to trust him without knowing more about him.

"I already told you. He's an alien."

"Yeah, and that's supposed to make me feel better? Remember, I grew up on sci-fi that said aliens weren't exactly our best friends. And even if he is, you haven't shown me any proof of that." Al reconsidered. "Of course that ship that's bigger on the inside is a good down payment... that he's an alien anyways."

Jack took a deep breath, looking at Al for a long moment. He knew the Admiral wasn't going to let up on the subject - when Al wanted something, he could be extremely tenacious - and that, eventually, he'd have to give him the proof that he wanted. "I need your desktop," he stated bluntly. "I'm assuming it's red."

Al nodded. "Yeah, it's red. I can receive and send top secret information on it. I'll just need to put in the right passwords." He went over to his desk and typed in the code that would allow the computer to work in the red mode. As he did, he mentioned to Jack, "Thanks for asking, though, since you've every right to use it. You've certainly paid for it."

"It's just common courtesy," Jack replied with a winning grin as he stood and walked around the desk, taking a seat in Al's chair. "What I'm going to show you, not even the rest of my team has seen." Getting a confused look from Al, he took a breath. "What do you know about Torchwood? I mean, other than the fact we pay your bills."

"It's a project in England. Deals with strange technologies." Al actually had heard more, but it was never good to show all your cards if turning one was enough.

"That's awfully vague," Jack commented. "At least Ianto is doing a good job in hiding the truth. I suppose that means I'll have to give him a raise someday... or something equally as valuable. What I'm about to tell you doesn't leave this room." He looked up at the ceiling. "That goes for you too, Ziggy."

"Of course. Ziggy, code alpha four seven."

Jack looked at Al for a moment, knowing that he was being secretive about what he knew. He also knew that Al's information wasn't as accurate as he thought. Getting into the Torchwood Institute's mainframe using a series of complex passwords, he then started to type his way into his own personal files, files he had stored away from even the best hackers in the world. "You probably think Torchwood deals with weapons technology and such."

"That's what my sources tell me."

"Well, your sources are only partially correct. We deal with extraterrestrial technology, gathering it and adapting it to help defend the Earth against alien invasion," Jack informed him. "Torchwood was originally founded by Queen Victoria as a response to her encounter with the Doctor and a werewolf in 1879..."

"Werewolf?" Al's eyes widened. "A real werewolf?"

"Actually a lupine wavelength haemovariform," Jack clarified. "But that's neither here nor there."

"Lupine wavelength..." Al started. "You're beginning to sound like Sam, Jack."

"Then the Doctor is in good company because he talks just like that. All the time."

Al rolled his eyes. "Great! Sam's going to end up even more of a meganerd after this leap."

Jack moved his head from side to side. "Could happen, I guess." He then went back to his explanation. "Anyway... until 2007, the Doctor was actually considered an enemy of Great Britain, which is kind of ironic in that he worked as a scientific advisor for the British Division of UNIT."

"UNIT? They chase fairytales and legends. Besides, once they're involved, you never have any control over anything. I don't trust them."

Jack gave him a hint of a smile, despite having been interrupted for a second time. "Seems you know more about them than the general public," he commented. The ex-Time Agent gave him a firm look. "If UNIT takes control, they have a good reason to. As for fairytales and legends... well, I guess Torchwood is worse than UNIT. We don't chase them. We catch them." He focused on the screen. "Now... where is that file?" With a bit of a grin, he located it and then stood to allow Al to take the seat. "You wanted to know who the Doctor is. Well, here you are."

Sitting down, Al read the file, blinking more and more rapidly as he read what was on the screen. "This is science fiction, Jack."

"This is reality, Al," Jack countered. "This is all that Torchwood has on the Doctor. Of course, I had to bury it and update it. The original file made the Doctor look like some kind of monster, which is as far from the truth as possible."

"How do you know that?" the former Naval officer queried. "If what I'm reading is true, then this man… um… this alien is 900 years old at least! There's no way you could know him well enough."

"Actually, he tends to lie about his age. He's more like 1200 years old. But you didn't hear that from me."

"Funny, Jack, really funny. You expect me to believe this?"

Ziggy's voice was around them both in the next second. "There's a 98.9% probability that Captain Harkness' statements are true."

"How the hell did you get that number, Ziggy? This isn't possible."

"I have correlated the dates in the file that the Captain has provided with known unexplained phenomena. They match exactly. Add to that the feed from Doctor Beckett's mesons. What you are being shown is true."

"And if you still doubt it, you can ask the Doctor to allow Sam to listen to his hearts," Jack added. "The Doctor tends to be a show off. He'd probably get a kick out of it."

Al swallowed. "Hearts?"

"He has two of them. And a respiratory bypass system. He's also telepathic but he doesn't invade other people's privacy. He may be rude... but he's not _that_ rude."

Al got up and walked over to his bookshelf and stood there for a few moments allowing the ideas that were being foisted upon him to sink in. Finally he turned. "How do you know all these things about him? How do you know the original report from 1879 wasn't true?"

Jack turned to him with a firm gaze. "Because I know him. I traveled with him for several months. He'd never hurt anyone out of malice, only in self-defense. He showed me a better life, a better way of living. Besides, Victoria was an uptight bitch."

"You met Queen Victoria?"

"Yeah. She visited the battalion I was with during the Crimean War," Jack started before letting his voice drop, realizing what he was saying. Clearing his throat, he took a breath. "She had very strong ideas of what was right and wrong, even to the point of calling anyone who disagreed with those ideas heretics."

"You were in the Crimean War?" Al questioned then threw up his hands. "Why the hell not? Sam was in the Civil War." He reached up and rubbed his temples, feeling a headache coming on once more. "Sam made this time travel stuff sound so reasonable."

"At least Sam didn't have to stay," Jack murmured under his breath. He swallowed tightly at the memories that came unbidden to his mind, forcing them away quickly. Now wasn't the time to dwell on his past.

"Well, you've turned my universe around, Jack. Gotta tell you, that isn't an easy thing to do. Last person to do that was Beckett."

"Guess that puts me in good company," Jack joked with a grin.

"The best, Jack. The best."


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8**

The two sojourners in 1987 did some on-the-road sightseeing as they journeyed through the streets of Chicago. The ride took about a half an hour but eventually the cab stopped in front of an elegant and historic bed and breakfast, the sight of which caused the Doctor to grin widely.

"Ah! Here we are! Smith's Inn," he announced as Sam paid the cab fare with cash the Doctor had given him. "Named after me, actually. Well... sort of. 19th century mansion converted into a bed and breakfast. Mind you, they really keep up the place." He started towards the door, not even worrying whether or not Sam was following.

Pocketing the change after providing a reasonable tip, Sam exited the cab. He saw the Doctor striding up to the door confidently. Sighing, he headed after him, doing his best to catch up.

Getting to the door, the Doctor waltzed in as if he owned the building, meandering to the front desk. Without waiting for the desk clerk to acknowledge them, the Doctor spoke up boldly. "Hello, I'd like to see the owner."

The desk clerk looked up. "You would? Who can I tell her is asking?"

"The Doctor," he announced with a genial smile. "Old friend. Haven't seen her in ages. She probably won't even recognize me. Well, not right away. I have changed quite a bit since I last saw her." He looked increasingly pensive. "Has it really been that long?"

The clerk noticed a young lady coming into the hall and smiled, obviously far more interested in the beauty than the man in front of him. "Well, hello, miss. I'll be right with you."

Sam looked over to the Doctor. "Um... I'm with him."

"So, she is!" the Doctor confirmed with a wide grin, giving Sam a wink.

The clerk called the owner's apartment letting her know a doctor who said he was an old friend was asking for them. After listening for a few moments, he turned to the lanky dark haired man. "Doctor who?"

The Doctor looked deeply offended. "Oh, come off! It hasn't been that long! Wait... is Harry around? Let me talk to him."

The clerk looked at the bright-eyed man in front of him, reaching for the phone once again, and didn't seem open to that suggestion. "Do you have some form of identification?"

The Doctor shook his head in frustration, reaching into his inside jacket pocket and pulling out a brown leather billfold, opening it to reveal the inside to the clerk. "There you are! Doctor John Smith, professor, Cambridge University. If he still has doubts, ask him if he remembers Sarah Jane."

The clerk looked at the paper and then asked to talk to his boss' spouse. He provided the information he'd discovered and was obviously given instructions. He turned back to the Doctor. "Dr. Sullivan will be right out."

A tall, distinguished looking gentleman walked into the lobby. He frowned slightly at the sight of two unfamiliar people standing there, one of them a young lady of about twenty years of age, the other a grinning maniac of about thirty-five years or so wearing a brown pinstriped suit and red Converses. "All right. Where's the Doctor?" he asked with a hint of annoyance.

Sam, seeing the interaction fidgeted. "Perhaps we should..."

"Harry! It's good to see you!" the Doctor said moving toward the man. "It's been ages! How have thing's been? This place is still magnificent!"

"Doctor?" the middle aged gentleman asked with a raised eyebrow.

"In the flesh!" Seeing the confusion, his visage softened. "I'm in my 10th regeneration."

"Regenerated again?" Harry seemed to berate. Gaining a shrug from the alien, he turned his head towards the young lady beside the Doctor. "And who is your companion this time?"

The Doctor turned back to Sam. "Rose Tyler. Had her around for a while now. When we found ourselves in Chicago, I knew right where to come."

"A pleasure to meet you, Miss Tyler," Harry greeted in return, a genuine smile on his face. She appeared to smile in return.

The Doctor turned to the table that graced the foyer across from the clerk. There was a bowl of fruit. "Bananas! You have bananas! Marvelous!" He grabbed one. "I love these things. They're good for you, you know."

Harry watched with a bit of amusement. "No jelly babies hiding in those impossible pockets of yours?"

"Jelly babies?" He patted himself. "I don't think... no, wait... yes... yes, there are! Can't remember how long they've been there though." He pulled one out, the sugar coating starting to crystallize.

The retired military man laughed in amusement. "Figured as much." He turned towards Sam with a hint of conspiracy in his voice. "I swear one of these days he'll pull out a kettle from his pockets and it will still be warm."

Sam gave a half grin. "Yeah. I've seen what those pockets can hold." He shuffled on his feet a bit, still not sure where this interaction was going. He decided that if he was going to learn anything they needed to be alone. "Um... Doctor? You were going to check on rooms?"

"Yes. Right." He turned to Harry. "Can you put us up for a few days? I think that's all we'll be here for. 'Course, never know for sure. But you know all about that."

"Of course, you are welcome to stay for as long as you'd like," Harry told them with a smile. "In fact..." He paused, a pensive look on his face. "There's a bit of a thing going on that would probably interest you, Doctor."

The Doctor's eyebrows went up. "Really! Perhaps we can talk about it over tea."

The clerk nodded and pulled out two keys to adjoining rooms and handed one to Sam. "Here you are, Miss," he stated with a twinkle in his eye. The other he handed to the Doctor. "Sir."

Harry, seeing that his guests had their keys, turned to the clerk. "Lawrence, would you ask Sally to prepare some tea and bring it to my study." He turned to the Doctor with a smile. "I'm sure she will be pleased to see you again, Doctor. Perhaps a half an hour to get you settled?"

"Yes. Just the thing. I'm looking forward to seeing Sally again."

Sam smiled nostalgically. "Tea. It's been awhile since I've had English Tea. Rextar Seven doesn't count."

"You took her there, I see," Harry commented with a smile. "I'll meet you in my study, then." With a small nod to both of his guests, he turned and walked back towards the door from which he came, clearly pleased that his old friend was in the house. He reached over to stop Lawrence from leaving just yet on his errand. "When you are done, why don't you take some time off... with pay, of course? I'll give you a call to let you know when I'll need you again."

"But, sir, what about the Martins coming next Tuesday and the Fabishers on Wednesday? Don't you want me to prepare for them?"

Harry hesitated for a moment, his clerk's words reminding him of the future guests. "We may have to arrange different accommodations for them. With what's going on in the basement, I'd rather not have our regular guests disturbed. Besides, Dr. Smith is an expert in such things. Hopefully he can get to bottom of the problem and the Martins and Fabishers will be able to join us as scheduled."

Lawrence nodded. "Of course, sir. I hope you're able to solve the mystery quickly." He got his things. "Just give me a call and thank you, sir." With that, the clerk left the building.

Heading up the stairs as they'd been directed, the Doctor and Sam took a turn to the left. A few steps down they came to their rooms.

Sam put the key into his door. It was an old skeleton key. "I haven't seen one of these since the last time I visited my Uncle Will."

"Aw, love this place!" the Doctor said for the third time in less than half an hour. "Mind you, we probably should pick up a few things for you from the TARDIS before the end of the day. That is, unless Sally can find you suitable clothing. I mean, you can't exactly spend the weekend wearing what you have on, can you?"

"Um, yeah. A change of clothes would be nice." Sam paused. "Doctor? How did you meet this man? He didn't recognize you at first, I'm sure of it. But then you started talking about knowing his wife and all. It's very confusing."

"Depends on whether or not you are referring to how long Harry's known me or I've known him," the Doctor replied with a grin.

"Huh?" Sam asked. "The riddles aren't helping."

"It's not a riddle. It's a matter of perspective. See, Harry's known me since my years at UNIT. That was in the late Seventies. Or was it the early Eighties? However, from my perspective I've known him for a much longer time."

"UNIT? What's UNIT?" Sam asked. "And it seems a little strange that you can't remember when you met him."

"You don't know UNIT? Well, given that it's a paramilitary organization financed by the United Nations with the intent on investigating extraterrestrial activity on Earth, I suppose it is beyond your particular field." Glancing at the glare he received, he added, "Or your memory's been affected by the time travel parameters of your project. UNIT is an acronym for United Intelligence Taskforce. Of course, back in the day, it was the United Nations Intelligence Taskforce but that's a different story. As for my own recollection ... well, call it old age."

"Old age, huh. You're younger than I was when I stepped into the Accelerator."

"I'm 901," the Time Lord told him confidently.

"Right," the physicist said skeptically. "I'm willing to accept you're an alien but really you expect me to believe you've been around almost 1000 years?"

The Doctor blinked at Sam's words. "Well... I may have shaved a few years off."

Sam rolled his eyes. "Fine. Don't tell me." He switched back to the previous question. "You were going to tell me about why Harry didn't recognize you."

"I regenerated. About half a dozen times over the course of knowing him. Funny... visited him a couple of times but I didn't visit Sarah Jane once. Saw her last month though. Relatively speaking."

"You mention that thing... regeneration. Downstairs with Harry. What's that?"

The Doctor sighed, rolling his eyes. "It's a discussion for another time. Harry is waiting for us and we haven't had a chance to wash up."

"Okay, but I'm still confused. Some of this stuff might be important to figure out what I'm here for so I'd appreciate an explanation later."

"There you go talking about changing history again," the Gallifreyan muttered under his breath. "Later. Now..." He motioned Sam to go into the room assigned to him before going into his own room, not waiting to see if Sam followed his unspoken order.

Sam stopped as he stepped into the room and regarded his surroundings. The room was appointed in clouds of lace and pink taffeta curtains. Roses sat on the marble top of the dressing table. Remembering a stage when his sister would have "died" for such a room, he sighed. "Oh, well... I guess it could be worse."

There was a door off of the main room and he figured that was the bath. Opening the door, he noted the heavily feminine theme continued. "It's worse. I hate it when I'm a woman," he groused out loud. He looked down at his clothes. "At least this one is mostly practical." Taking the time to get a good look at his host in the mirror, as it really had been the first time he could, he gave his reflection a critical eye. Rose Tyler was a short young woman, about 5"4' or 5'5" tall by Sam's estimate. Her shoulder length peroxide blonde hair was starting to show its dark-colored roots that matched her dark eyebrows. Bright brown eyes and rosy cheeks accented her oval face, showing a teenage innocence that hid a wisdom that was rare for a girl of her age.

Knowing that he'd seen the Doctor looking at her in a definitely non-paternal way, he mused, "I wonder how long she's been traveling with the Doctor." He figured perhaps that might have something to do with his leap in but somehow his gut told him that wasn't the case. Deciding he couldn't figure it out for now, he took a few minutes to clean up a bit before going over to the Doctor's room.

Before he could knock on the door, the door opened, showing the Doctor looking exactly as he had before with no indication that he had done much more than ran his hand through his hair in a vague attempt to make it set down a little. "Well, that didn't take you long," the Gallifreyan commented. "Allons-y, then. I smell tea!"

The two made their way back downstairs. The Gallifreyan appeared to know exactly where he was going. Popping in through a set of doors, the Doctor strode into the study confidently. "Ah, already set, I see. Marvelous!" Seeing a lovely woman already seated with a cup in hand, he went right to her. "Good to see you again, Sally. It's been a while."

"Doctor! Well, I must say, you're looking quite well. Younger I think than the last time." She sighed. "I did so like your dashing outfit then though."

"That thing? You know I stole it, don't you? But I suppose it did match my hair." He considered that for a moment. "Remind me never to have long curly hair again."

"But it was so nice."

"But I like my hair now," he protested. "And the suit. And the trainers..." Noticing Sam waiting in the doorway, he quickly changed the subject. "Come on, Rose. Meet Sally Sullivan."

Sam stepped into the room and moved over to the Doctor. He offered his hand to the woman as he stated, "Very nice to meet you, ma'am."

Sally took his hand. "Rose, is it? Lovely to meet you, my dear." Turning to the Doctor, she told him, "Such a young lady to be traveling with you."

"Oh, but Rose Tyler is an exceptional young lady," the Doctor proclaimed, giving Sam a slight look, a hidden reminder of his promise to the time traveler's partner in the future. "And she isn't the youngest person I've had with me." He looked around him. "So, where is Harry? He indicated that you have something amiss. Rose, do sit down," he instructed as he practically bounced into a seat next to Sally.

Sam smiled gamely and found his seat. Remembering he was a woman, he made sure to set his legs appropriately. "This is a very nice place."

"Thank you. It's what I like to do." She then smiled, "Rose, dear, would you please pour tea while we discuss the situation?" Refocusing on the Doctor, she explained, "Harry wanted to bring something up from the basement. He said you'd probably want to see it when he explained the goings on."

The Doctor nodded slightly at the explanation. "Well, I hope he comes before the tea goes cold." He gave Sam a slightly wary look. The last thing that they needed was for him to make some little faux pas. While Sally was raised in the United States, she'd adopted much of the practices that were still in place in Great Britain, especially when it came to the social art of tea.

Sam reached for the teapot in its cozy. Moving a cup and saucer into position, he used the strainer to pour out the tea, leaving room for milk and sugar should that be desired. Afterwards he picked up the saucer with his left hand and offered the straight black tea to the Doctor.

The Doctor gave him a genial smile, clearly impressed. "Thank you," he acknowledged.

After the Doctor took the tea, Sam repeated the procedure, returning the teapot to its spot before adding a bit of milk to his cup. He also added one lump of sugar. Taking a sip, he commented, "Ah, Darjeeling. My favorite."

Sally beamed. "Yes. Harry likes that as well. I'm so glad you enjoy it." She turned a surprised look towards the Doctor as he added three lumps of sugar and a hint of milk, gaining a slight stare from both Sam and Sally.

"I like it sweet," he protested. He forced himself to refrain from putting his feet on the coffee table, though the urge was clearly there from the way he fidgeted slightly. Before the conversation continued his old friend walking into the room with a box in hand. "Ah, Harry! 'Bout time. The tea's going cold."

Harry gave the Doctor a slight smile. "Sorry, Doctor. But I felt it necessary to retrieve this." He indicated the box in his hand, which he promptly gave to the Time Lord.

Sally smiled as Harry walked in. She poured out a cup of tea, waiting for her husband to sit before giving it to him. He smiled gratefully to his wife before taking a sip, straight without milk or sugar.

After the Doctor took the box from Harry, he placed his tea on the coffee table and then looked inside. There he saw a cast of a footprint unlike any he remembered seeing. "Where did you find this?"

Harry gave him a look that plainly stated he knew the Doctor wouldn't believe the answer. "In the cellar."

Looking rather concerned, the Doctor clarified. "This cellar. Downstairs. When?"

Sally confirmed. "Yes. We've been hearing things for the past three weeks. Harry found this two days ago."

Harry put his tea on the table in front of him. "A lot of odd things have been going on down there recently. Strange sounds I've never heard before, an odd bluish gel-like substance seeping through the cracks..."

Sam moved over to look in the box as well. When he saw what was in it, he asked, "What is it?"

"I have no idea. Never seen anything like it and that's saying something," Harry answered. He looked at his friend with questioning. "Doctor?"

The Doctor looked over to Sam. "This one is new to me as well." He turned back to Harry. "Any other evidence of the 'visit?'"

Harry shook his head slightly. "Very little." He looked unnerved. "More of... an uneasy feeling throughout the inn, as if someone or something was watching. Like those stories about haunted houses."

Remembering the many times he'd investigated these types of things, the Doctor smiled. "Now, Harry, you know there are no such things as ghosts. Supposed hauntings are usually just imprints of the past on physical objects. In this case, since you have physical evidence, it's probably something from another dimension seeping into this one or an odd temporal shift. Do you know if this inn is located on a rift in time and space?"

"I have no idea. I did try to pull some strings with UNIT but they're apparently occupied. They're still cleaning up the mess from the Mondas incident."

The Doctor raised an eyebrow. "But that was last year. And in Antarctica. And didn't involve UNIT. What are they doing up there?"

"Home of the Cybermen nearly drains the Earth of all its power? You take a guess, Doctor."

"Right," the Time Lord conceded.

"In any case, Sally thought the inn is haunted. See, dear, you have nothing to worry about. You have the Doctor's word that your inn doesn't have ghosts."

Sally answered. "Yes, but this current situation doesn't really sound much better."

The Doctor reached into his jacket to pull out a pair of thick-rimmed glasses. Slipping them over his eyes, he peered at the casting in the box. "Well, it can't be Gelth. They're made of gas and I honestly don't think this inn sits on top of a rift. I think I would have noticed it by now if it did." He bit his lip. "No... whatever this thing is, it's nothing I've ever encountered before."

Sally looked even more concerned. "If you've never encountered this before, how will you discover what is going on?"

The Doctor raised his head. "Oh, I've encountered things I've never encountered before before." He gave a manic grin. "Before before! Almost lyrical, that."

Sam, infected by the Doctor's grin, smiled back. "It does have an interesting ring." A vague memory hit Sam. "We could set up cameras, sound devices. Set the system to trip if the physical manifestation occurs again."

"Not bad. Bit like 'Ghost Hunters'. All we need now are Jason Hawes and Grant Wilson." Seeing the confused look from his three companions, he sighed. "The dangers of time travel... others around you have no knowledge of future television shows." He looked at Sam with a bit of surprise. "I thought you would know."

"I've never heard of it, not that I ever really watched much television, at least since I was a kid."

"Oh, it's a great laugh. Of course, our little set-up is going to be far more logical. How'd you come up with the idea to use cameras and sound devices?"

"I seem to recall a crypt with that set-up. It was..." He paused. "...before I leapt into your life."

The Doctor looked a bit confused for a moment before taking a deep breath, the hidden meaning suddenly clear to him. "Right," he said slowly.

Harry laughed. "Leapt into the Doctor's life! That's brilliant. Although I'd say it was more the other way around. Never know when the Doctor will show up."

The Doctor gave him a look. "As if you would know. You _pushed_ your way into my life. I didn't need a doctor to tell me I was in good health."

"I was _ordered _into your life. There's a difference," the physician contradicted.

"You didn't have to step into the TARDIS, you know."

"But then you wouldn't have had nearly as much fun. We were great... you, Sarah, and I."

"With me stopping you from blowing up a whole planet, taking all three of us with it," the Doctor countered with a friendly glare.

"I already apologized for that several dozen times, haven't I?" Harry said in defense.

Sam interrupted gently. "Umm... back to the subject of this not haunted inn with strange things going on?"

The Doctor rubbed his hands together. "Right... we need to start planning this little operation. I'll go back to the TARDIS and bring her here. We'll probably need equipment from her for this. Sa... Rose," he started. "Go with Harry to the cellar and take a look around for anything and everything out of the ordinary."

Sam nodded. "Sure."

"Harry, can I borrow your motor?" the Time Lord questioned. "Promise I'll bring it right back."

"Of course, Doctor."

"Good man."

The group, composed of old friends and new, disbanded to their various tasks. While the Doctor took off to bring his faithful TARDIS to the house, the humans went about their tasks with a feeling of anticipation and a bit of trepidation. As the Doctor drove through the streets of Chicago, he thought about the fact that he had once again been thrust into the role of a detective. He couldn't help but wonder what they would find.


End file.
